EXCHANGE 


MAGIC,  WHITE  AND  BLACK 


The  following  Works  have  been  issued,  in  the 

-^OCCULT  •  SERIES.^ 


No.  I.-THE    BLOSSOM    AND    THE    FRUIT. 
By  MABEL  COLLINS. 

No.   II.-DREAMS    AND    DREAM    STORIES. 

By  ANNA  (BONUS)  KINGSFORD. 

No.  1 1  I.-THE    PILGRIM    AND    THE    SHRINE. 
By  EDWARD  MAITLAND. 

No.  IV.-MAGIC,   WHITE    AND    BLACK. 
By  FRANZ  HARTMANN,  M.  D. 

No.  V.-THE    TALKING    IMAGE    OF    URUR. 
By  FRANZ  HARTMANN,  M.  D. 

No.  VI.-THE    PERFECT    WAY.       (IN  PRESS.) 
By  EDWARD  MAITLAND  and 

ANNA  (BONUS)  KINGSFORD. 


These  Works  in  attractive  paper  covers,         -  $  .50 

Cloth,  gilt,        -                           -  1.00 

JOHN   W.    LOVELL   COMPANY, 

150   WORTH    STREET,                                                       NEW  YORK. 


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Magic,  White  and  Black 

OR 

The  Science  of  Finate  and  Infinite  Life 


CONTAINING 


PRACTICAL  HINTS  FOR  STUDENTS  OF  OCCULTISM 


BY 

FRANZ   HARTMANN,  M.  D. 


"  For  in  our  searchings  are  fulfilled  all  our  desires,  and  we  obtain 
the  victory  over  all  worlds."— Khand.  Upanishad. 


FOURTH  (AMERICAN)  EDITION  REVISED 


NEW  YORK 

JOHN  W.  LOVELL  COMPANY 
150  WORTH  STREET,  COR.  OF  MISSION  PLACE 


COPYRIGHT,  1890, 

BT 

JOHN    W.    LOVELL. 


.0 

at 


T    I 

CN 


ILLUSION 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  FRONTISPIECE. 


AT  the  foot  of  the  picture  is  a  sleeping  Sphinx,  whose 
upper  part  (representing  the  higher  principles)  is  human  ; 
while  the  lower  parts  (symbolizing  the  lower  principles) 
are  of  an  animal  nature.  She  is  dreaming  of  the  solution 
of  the  great  problem  of  the  construction  of  the  Universe 
and  of  the  nature  and  destiny  of  Man,  and  her  dream  takes 
the  shape  of  the  figure  above  her,  representing  the  Macro- 
cosm and  the  Microcosm  and  their  mutual  interaction. 

Above,  around,  and  within  all,  without  beginning  and 
without  an  end,  penetrating  and  pervading  all,  from  the 
endless  and  unimaginable  periphery  to  the  invisible  and 
incomprehensible  centre,  the  "  Father  "  of  All,  the  supreme 
source  of  every  power  that  ever  manifested  or  may  in  the 
future  manifest  itself,  and  by  whose  activity  the  world  was 
thrown  into  existence,  being  projected  by  the  power  of 
His  own  will  and  assuming  form  in  His  imagination. 

The  Omega  (and  the  Alpha  in  the  centre)  represent  the 
"  Son?  the  Absolute  having  become  manifest  as  the 
Universal  Logos  or  The  Christ,  the  cause  of  the  beginning 
v.  and  the  end  of  every  created  thing.  It  is  One  with  the 
"  Father?  being  manifested  as  a  Trinity  in  a  Unity,  the 
cause  of  what  we  call  Space,  Motion,  and  Substance. 
The  "  regenerated "  spiritual  man,  whose  matrix  is  his 
own  physical  body,  draws  his  nutriment  from  this  univer- 
sal spiritual  principle  as  the  physical  foetus  is  nourished  by 
means  of  the  womb  of  the  mother,  his  soul  being  formed 
from  the  astral  influences  or  the  soul  of  the  world. 

Out  of  the  Universal  Logos  proceeds  the  "invisible 
Light "  of  the  Spirit,  the  Truth,  the  Law,  and  the  Life, 
embracing  and  penetrating  the  Cosmos,  while  the  visible 
light  of  Nature  is  only  its  most  material  aspect  or  mode  of 
manifestation,  in  the  same  sense  as  the  visible  sun  is  the 
reflex  of  its  divine  prototype,  the  invisible  centre  of  power 
or  the  great  spiritual  Sun. 


6  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  FRONTISPIECE. 

The  circle  with  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodiac,  enclosing 
the  space  in  which  the  planets  belonging  to  our  solar  sys- 
tem are  represented,  symbolizes  the  Cosmos,  filled  with 
the  planetary  influences  pervading  the  Astral  Light. 
Here  is  the  store-house  of  Life,  the  Iliaster  of  Paracelsus, 
in  which  the  Mysterium  magnum  (the  Spirit)  is  active. 

The  activity  in  the  Cosmos  is  represented  by  the  inter- 
laced triangle.  The  two  outer  ones  represent  the  great 
powers  of  creation,  preservation,  and  destruction,  or  J3ra- 
hama,  Vishnu,  and  Siva,  acting  upon  the  elements  of 
Fire,  Water,  and  Earth — that  is  to  say,  upon  the  original 
principles  out  of  which  ethereal,  fluid  and  solid  material 
substances  and  forms  are  produced. 

The  two  inner  interlaced  triangles  refer  more  especially 
to  the  development  of  Man.  B,  C,  and  D  represent 
Knowledge,  the  Knower,  and  the  Known,  which  trinity 
constitutes  Mind  or  Consciousness.  E,  F,  and  G  represent 
the  Physical  Man  (Stoola-Sharira),  the  Ethereal  or  Inner 
Man  (Sukshma-Sharira),  sidereal  body  of  Paracelsus,  astral 
body,  Kama  rupa,  etc.,  and  the  Spiritual  Man  (Karana- 
Sharira,  the  divine  Archseus,  the  spiritual  Soul).  The 
centre  represents  the  divine  Atma,  the  personal  Christ, 
being  identical  with  the  Universal  Logos.  It  is,  like  the 
latter,  a  Trinity  in  a  Unity,*  receiving  its  light  from  the 
Param-Atma  and  radiating  it  again  from  the  centre.  It 
is  the  spiritual  seed  implanted  in  the  soul  of  man,  through 
whose  growth  immortal  life  is  attained.  Its  light  is  the 
Rose  of  the  Cross  that  is  formed  by  Wisdom  and  Power, 
being  joined  together  into  one  and  sending  its  influence 
through  the  world.  But  below  all  is  the  realm  of  Illusion, 
of  the  most  gross  and  heavy  materialized  thoughts,  sinking 
into  Darkness  and  Death  (the  Eighth  Sphere  or  Chaos}, 
where  they  decompose  and  putrefy,  and  are  resolved  again 
into  the  elements  out  of  which  the  Universe  came  into 
existence. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  three  A's  form  a  five-pointed 
star  in  the  centre  of  the  double  interlaced  triangle  repre- 
senting the  six-pointed  star.  The  five  is  continually  seek- 
ing to  expand  and  to  come  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
six,  while  the  latter  is  forever  striving  to  enter  the  five  and 
to  become  manifest  therein.  In  other  words,  the  dark  and 

*  Of  the  three  interlaced  A's  only  one  is  distinctly  drawn  in  the 
figure. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  FRONTISPIECE.  7 

corporified  centre  seeks  for  eternal  freedom  and  light; 
while  the  unlimited  light  seeks  for  corporification  and  form. 
One  has  a  centripetal  and  the  other  a  centrifugal  action, 
and  as  neither  can  conquer  the  other,  there  results  per- 
petual motion  ;  the  pulsation  of  the  eternal  heart  of  Divi- 
nity ;  the  law  of  evolution  and  involution.  If  the  five- 
pointed  star  were  to  become  a  six-pointed  one — if  the 
Rosicrucian  Rose  had  six  leaves  instead  of  five — this 
turning  of  the  wheel  would  have  an  end  ;  there  would  be 
Nirvana, — eternal  rest 


PREFACE 

TO  THE  NEW  AMERICAN  EDITION. 


MAGIC,  white  and  black,  was  originally  written  at  a  time 
when  I  imagined  that  it  was  possible  by  means  of  intelleo 
tual  efforts  to  bore  a  hole  through  the  veil  that  covers  the 
mystery  of  the  spirit,  and  the  favor  with  which  the  first 
three  editions  have  been  received  I  attribute  to  the  gene- 
rally prevailing  curiosity  of  obtaining  a  knowledge  of  spi- 
ritual things  without  having  to  pass  through  the  slow  pro- 
cess of  becoming  spiritual  oneself.  As  it  has  been  decided 
to  bring  out  a  new  edition,  I  have  attempted  to  remedy 
its  most  conspicuous  faults,  and  to  make  such  improve- 
ments as  were  suggested  by  a  more  extended  experience. 
In  this  new  shape  I  can  conscientiously  recommend  it  to 
my  American  compatriots,  and  to  all  who  are  interested  in 
the  study  of  occultism. 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION- 

THE  favor  with  which  "  Magic  "  has  been  received  by  those 
who  are  interested  in  the  study  of  the  hidden  mysteries  of 
Nature,  made  it  expedient  to  publish  a  third  edition  of  this 
book.  From  an  insignificant  pamphlet,  written  originally 
for  the  purpose  of  demonstrating  to  a  few  inexperienced 
inquirers,  that  the  study  of  the  occult  side  of  nature  was 
not  identical  with  the  vile  practices  of  sorcery,  "Magic" 
grew  into  a  book  of  respectable  dimensions,  and  now  this 
new  edition  is  to  be  still  more  enlarged,  and  I  hope  will 
also  become  still  more  useful. 

The  most  serious  objection  which  has  been  made  against 
this  book  has  been  on  account  of  its  title ;  but  the  causes 
which  induced  me  to  select  such  a  title  were  suggested  by 
the  purpose  for  which  the  book  was  intended  ;  nor  would 
I  at  present  be  able  to  find  one  more  appropriate  for  it, 
for  "  Magic"  means  that  divine  art  of  exercise  of  spiritual 
power  by  which  the  awakened  spirit  in  man  may  con- 
trol the  living  elements. 

But  if  we  desire  to  master  any  forces  whatever,  either 
within  or  beyond  our  own  sphere,  it  is  above  all  necessary 
to  know  what  these  forces  are,  and  we  have  no  better 
means  to  study  the  qualities  of  any  internal  forces  than 
by  observing  those  which  are  active  within  ourselves,  the 
perception  of  the  processes.  The  art  Magic  is  the  exercise 
of  spiritual  power,  which  may  be  obtained  by  practising 
self-control,  and  this  power  cannot  be  acquired  in  any  other 
way.  The  constitutions  of  all  men  are  fundamentally  the 
same,  and  in  each  human  being  are  magical  powers  germi- 
nally  or  in  a  latent  condition ;  but  they  cannot  be  said  to 
exist  before  they  become  active  and  manifest  themselves, 
first  interiorly,  and  afterwards  in  an  outward  direction. 

It  was  not  my  object,  in  composing  this  book,  to  write 
merely  a  code  of  ethics,  and  thereby  to  increase  the  already 
existing  enormous  mountain  of  unread  moral  precepts,  but 
to  assist  the  student  of  Occultism  in  studying  the  elements 


12  PREFACE  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION'. 

of  which  his  own  soul  is  composed,  and  to  learn  to  know 
his  own  psychical  organism.  I  want  to  give  an  impulse  to 
the  study  of  a  science,  which  may  be  called  the  "  anatomy 
and  physiology  of  the  soul"  which  investigates  the  elements 
of  which  the  soul  is  composed,  and  the  source  from  which 
man's  desires  and  emotions  spring. 

To  arrive  at  this  end  the  merely  intellectual  reading  of 
books  on  Occultism  is  entirely  insufficient.  The  divine 
mysteries  of  nature  are  above  and  beyond  the  power  of 
conception  of  the  semi-animal  intellect.  They  must  be 
intuitively  grasped  by  the  power  of  the  spirit,  which  enters 
into  the  substance  of  which  the  world  is  formed.  If  we 
cannot  perceive  a  spiritual  truth  with  the  eyes  of  the  spirit, 
intellectual  reasoning  and  book  learning  will  not  enable  us 
to  perceive  it  clearly.  Books,  dealing  with  such  subjects, 
should  not  be  masters  to  us  to  whom  we  must  blindly  fol- 
low ;  they  should  merely  be  our  assistants.  They  are 
merely  useful  to  describe  the  details  of  things  which  we 
already — although  perhaps  indistinctly  —  see  with  our 
spiritual  perception  ;  they  are  merely  servants  to  hold  up 
before  our  eyes  magnifying  mirrors,  wherein  we  see  the 
truths,  whose  presence  we  feel  in  our  own  soul. 

Jacob  Boehme,  the  great  theosophist,  says  in  regard  to 
the  study  of  Occultism :  "  If  you  desire  to  investigate  the 
divine  mysteries  of  nature,  investigate  first  your  own  mind, 
and  ask  yourself  about  the  purity  of  your  purpose.  Do 
you  desire  to  put  the  good  teachings  which  you  may 
receive  into  practice  for  the  benefit  of  humanity?  Are 
you  ready  to  renounce  all  selfish  desires,  which  cloud  your 
mind  and  hinder  you  to  see  the  clear  light  of  eternal  truth  ? 
Are  you  willing  to  become  an  instrument  for  the  manifest- 
ation of  Divine  Wisdom  ?  Do  you  know  what  it  means  to 
become  united  with  your  own  higher  Self,  to  get  rid  of 
your  lower  Self,  to  become  one  with  the  living  universal 
power  of  Good,  and  to  die  to  your  own  insignificant  terres- 
trial personality  ?  Or  do  you  merely  desire  to  obtain  great 
knowledge,  so  that  your  curiosity  may  be  gratified,  and 
that  you  may  be  proud  of  your  science,  and  believe  your- 
self to  be  superior  to  the  rest  of  mankind  ?  Consider,  that 
the  depths  of  Divinity  can  only  be  searched  by  the  divine 
spirit  itself,  which  is  active  within  you.  Real  knowledge 
must  come  from  our  own  interior,  not  merely  from  exter- 
nals ;  and  they  who  seek  for  the  essence  of  things  merely  in 


PREFACE  TO  THE  THIRD  EDITION.  13 

externals,  may  find  the  artificial  color  of  a  thing,  but  not 
the  true  thing  itself." 

Let  therefore  those  who  wish  to  acquire  "  Magic,"  i.e., 
spiritual  or  divine  power,  follow  this  advice  ;  let  them  rise 
mentally  into  the  highest  regions  of  thought  and  remain 
therein  as  its  permanent  residents.  Let  them  cultivate 
their  physical  bodies  and  their  mental  constitutions  in  such 
a  manner  that  the  matter  of  which  they  are  composed  will 
become  less  gross  and  more  movable  and  penetrable  to  the 
divine  light  of  the  spirit.  Then  will  the  veils  that  separate 
them  from  the  invisible  world  become  thinner. 

The  following  pages  are  an  attempt  to  show  the  way 
how  Man  may  become  a  co-operator  of  the  Divine  Power 
whose  product  is  Nature  ;  they  constitute  a  book  which 
may  properly  bear  the  title  of  "  Magic,"  for  if  the  readers 
succeed  in  practically  following  its  teachings,  they  will  be 
able  to  perform  the  greatest  of  all  magical  feats,  the  spi- 
ritual regeneration  of  Man. 


PREFACE. 

OUR  age  is  the  age  of  opinions.  The  majority  of  our 
educated  people  live,  so  to  say,  in  their  heads,  and  the 
claims  of  the  heart  are  neglected.  Scepticism  is  king,  and 
wisdom  is  only  permitted  to  speak  when  it  does  not  come 
into  conflict  with  selfish  considerations.  The  guardians  of 
science  attempt  to  bring  the  infinite  truth  within  the  grasp 
of  their  finite  understanding,  and  whatever  they  fail  to 
comprehend  is  supposed  by  them  to  have  no  existence. 
Our  speculative  philosophers  refuse  to  recognize  the 
incomprehensible  power  of  universal  love  whose  light  is 
reflected  in  the  human  soul ;  they  wish  to  examine  eternal 
truths  by  the  flickering  candle-light  of  their  minds'  reason- 
ing  from  the  basis  of  sensual  observations ;  they  forget 
that  Humanity  is  a  Unity,  and  that  one  individual  cannot 
encompass  the  All.  They  ask  for  scientific  reasons  why 
man  should  be  faithful  and  true,  and  why  he  should  not 
consider  his  own  personal  interests  above  those  of  the  rest 
of  mankind. 

It  is  universally  admitted  that  man's  final  destiny  cannot 
depend  on  the  theories  which  he  may  have  formed  in  his 
mind  regarding  Cosmology,  Pneumatology,  plans  of  salva- 
tion, etc.,  and  as  long  as  he  possesses  no  real  knowledge, 
one  set  of  beliefs  or  opinions  may  perhaps  be  as  good  as 
another ;  but  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  the  sooner  man 
frees  himself  of  erroneous  opinions  and  recognizes  the  real 
truth,  the  less  will  he  be  impeded  by  the  obstacles  which 
are  in  the  way  of  his  higher  evolution,  and  the  sooner 
will  he  reach  the  summit  of  his  final  perfection. 

The  most  important  questions  seem,  therefore,  to  be  : 
"  Is  it  possible  that  a  man  should  actually  know  anything 
transcending  his  sensual  perception,  unless  it  is  told  to 
him  by  some  supposed  authority  ?  Can  the  power  of  intui- 
tion be  developed  to  such  an  extent  as  to  become  actual 
knowledge  without  any  possibility  of  error,  or  shall  we 
always  be  doomed  to  depend  on  hearsay  and  opinions  ? 
Can  any  individual  man  possess  powers  transcending  those 


16  PREFACE. 

which  are  admitted  to  exist  by  modern  science,  and  how 
can  such  transcendental  powers  be  acquired  ?  " 

The  following  pages  were  written  for  the  purpose  of 
attempting  to  answer  such  questions,  by  calling  the  atten- 
tion of  those  who  desire  to  know  the  truth  to  a  consider- 
ation of  the  true  nature  of  Man  and  of  his  position  in  the 
Universe.  Those  who  believe  that  they  already  know  it  of 
course  will  not  need  the  instructions  which  these  pages 
contain,  but  to  those  who  desire  to  know  they  may  be  of 
some  use,  and  to  the  latter  we  recommend  the  advice  given 
by  Gautama  Buddha  to  his  disciples  :  "  Believe  nothing 
which  is  unreasonable,  and  reject  nothing  as  unreasonable 
without  proper  examination." 

This  book  was  not  written  for  the  purpose  of  convinc- 
ing sceptics  of  the  fact  that  phenomena  of  an  occult  char- 
acter have  taken  place  in  the  past  and  are  occurring  at 
present  •  though  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  prove  the 
possibility  of  mystic  occurrences,  by  offering  some  explan- 
ation in  regard  to  the  laws  by  which  they  may  be  pro- 
duced. No  space  has  been  devoted  to  lengthy  illustrative 
examples  of  phenomena.  Those  who  require  them  will 
find  such  evidence  in  the  books  whose  titles  have  been 
given  at  the  foot  of  the  pages. 


"  Everything  that  exists  upon  the  Earth  has  its  ethereal  counterpart 
above  the  Earth,  and  there  is  nothing,  however  insignificant  it  may 
appear  in  the  world,  which  is  not  depending  on  something  higher  ;  so 
that  if  the  lower  part  acts,  its  presiding  Signer  »^art  reacts  upon  it." 

(Vjjecae,  Fol,  156,  6. 


MAGIC. 


INTRODUCTION. 

"  There  is  no  religion  higher  than  the  recognition  of  the  truth." 

WHATEVER  misinterpretation  ancient  or  modern  ignorance 
may  have  given  to  the  word  Magic,  its  only  true  signifi- 
cance is  The  Highest  Science,  or  Wisdom  based  upon 
knowledge  and  practical  experience. 

If  you  doubt  whether  there  is  any  such  thing  as  Magic, 
and  if  you  desire  any  practical  illustration  about  it,  open 
your  eyes  and  look  around  you.  See  the  world,  the  ani- 
mals, and  the  trees,  and  ask  yourself  whether  they  could 
have  come  into  existence  by  any  other  power  than  by  the 
magic  power  of  nature.  Magical  power  is  not  a  supernatural 
power,  if  by  the  term  "  supernatural "  you  mean  a  power 
which  is  outside,  beyond,  or  external  to  nature.  To  sup- 
pose the  existence  of  such  a  power  is  an  absurdity  and  a 
superstition,  opposed  to  all  our  experience  ;  for  we  see  that 
all  organisms,  vegetable  and  animal  ones,  grow  by  the 
action  of  internal  forces  acting  outwardly,  and  not  by  hav- 
ing something  added  to  their  substance  from  the  outside. 
A  seed  does  not  become  a  tree,  nor  a  child  a  man,  by 
having  substance  added  to  its  organism  by  some  outside 
workman,  or  like  a  house  which  is  built  by  putting  stones 
on  the  top  of  each  other ;  but  living  things  grow  by  the 
action  of  an  internal  force,  acting  from  a  centre  within  the 
form.  To  this  centre  flow  the  influences  coming  from  the 
universal  storehouse  of  matter  and  motion,  and  from  there 
they  radiate  again  towards  the  periphery,  and  perform  that 
labor  which  builds  up  the  living  organism, 


20  LIFE. 

B'4t  what  pise  can  such  a  power  be,  except  spiritual 
p{.-iw,  and  ac.  yvf/>  it  is  supernatural,  although  acting 
in  nature ;  for  nature  is  neither  Spirit  nor  God,  but  a 
product  of  i.rje  Divine  .Spirit,  an  image  formed  in  the 
universal  Mind  by  'the  power  of  the  Divine  Will.  God  is 
All ;  but  All  is  not  God,  and  the  magical  powers  of  Justice, 
Wisdom  and  Love,  etc.,  are  not  products  of  nature,  but 
attributes  of  the  spirit.  As  such  they  are  higher  than 
nature,  although  not  outside  of  it.  It  penetrates  to  the 
very  centre  of  material  things.  It  cannot  be  a  mere 
mechanical  force;  for  we  know  that  a  mechanical  force 
ceases  as  soon  as  the  impulse  which  originated  it  ceases  to 
act.  It  cannot  be  a  chemical  force,  for  chemical  action 
ceases  when  the  chemical  combination  of  the  substances 
which  were  to  combine  has  taken  place.  It  must  there- 
fore be  a  living  power,  and  as  life  cannot  be  a  product  of  a 
dead  form,  it  can  be  nothing  else  but  the  power  of  Life, 
acting  within  the  life-centres  of  the  forms. 

This  Life  or  Will  in  nature  is  a  magician,  and  every  plant, 
animal,  and  man  is  a  magician,  who  uses  this  power  uncon- 
sciously and  instinctively  to  build  up  his  own  organism ; 
or,  in  other  words,  every  living  being  is  an  organism  in 
which  the  magic  power  of  life  acts  ;  and  if  a  man  should 
attain  the  knowledge  how  to  control  this  power  of  life,  and 
to  employ  it  consciously,  instead  of  merely  submitting 
unconsciously  to  its  influence,  then  he  would  be  a  magician, 
and  could  control  the  processes  of  life  in  his  own  organism. 
Now  the  question  is  :  Can  any  man  obtain  such  a  power 
as  to  control  the  processes  of  life  ?  The  answer  to  this 
question  depends  on  what  you  mean  by  the  term  "  man." 
If  you  mean  by  "  man  "  an  intellectual  animal,  such  as  we 
meet  every  day  in  the  streets,  then  the  answer  is  :  No  ! 
for  the  majority  of  the  men  and  women  of  our  present 
generation,  including  our  greatest  scientific  lumens,  know 
absolutely  nothing  about  that  universal  thing  or  no-thing, 
which  produces  what  we  call  "  Life,"  and  which  we  may  call 
the  "  Will; "  because  we  know  that  no  action  ever  takes  place 
without  an  effort  of  what  we  call  "  Will,"  exercised  with  or 
.without  relative  consciousness.  Some  of  them  have  not 
even  made  up  their  minds  whether  or  not  they  will  believe 
in  its  existence.  They  can  neither  see  it  nor  feel  it,  and 
therefore  they  do  not  know  what  to  make  of  it. 

But  if  you  mean  by  "  man  "  that  intelligent  principle, 


,VILL.  21 

which  is  active  within  the  organism  of  man,  and  which 
constitutes  him  a  human  being,  and  by  whose  action  he 
becomes  a  being  very  distinct  from  and  above  the  animals 
in  human  or  animal  form,  then  the  answer  is  :  Yes  !  for  the 
divine  power  which  acts  within  the  organism  of  animal 
man  is  the  same  and  identical  power  which  acts  within  the 
centre  of  nature.  It  is  an  internal  power  of  man,  and 
belongs  to  man,  and  if  man  once  knows  all  the  powers 
which  belong  to  his  essential  constitution,  and  knows 
how  to  use  them,  then  he  may  enter  from  the  passive  into 
the  active  state,  and  employ  these  powers  himself. 

Absurd  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  nevertheless  a  logical  con- 
sequence drawn  from  the  fundamental  truths  about  the 
constitution  of  man,  that  if  a  man  could  control  the  univer- 
sal power  of  life  acting  within  himself,  he  might  prolong 
the  life  of  his  organism  as  long  as  it  pleased  to  him ;  if  he 
could  control  it,  and  knew  all  the  laws  of  matter,  he  might 
render  it  dense  or  vaporous,  concentrate  it  to  a  small  point, 
or  expand  it,  so  as  to  occupy  a  great  deal  of  space. 
Verily,  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction,  and  we  might  see  it, 
if  we  could  only  rise  above  the  narrow  conceptions  and 
prejudices  which  we  have  inherited  and  acquired  by  educa- 
tion and  sensjtal  observation. 

The  most"  strange  things  happen  continually  in  nature, 
and  hardly  attract  our  attention.  They  do  not  seem 
strange  to  us,  although  we  do  not  understand  them ; 
merely  because  we  are  accustomed  to  see  them  every  day. 
Who  would  be  so  "foolish  "  as  to  believe  that  a  tree  could 
grow  out  of  a  seed — as  there  is  evidently  no  tree  in  the 
seed — if  his  experience  had  not  told  him  that  trees  grow 
out  of  seeds  in  spite  of  all  arguments  to  the  contrary  ? 
Who  would  believe  that  a  flower  would  grow  out  of  a  plant, 
if  he  had  not  seen  it,  for  observation  and  reason  show 
that  there  is  no  flower  in  the  stalk  ?  Nevertheless,  flowers 
grow,  and  cannot  be  disputed  away. 

Everywhere  in  nature  the  action  of  an  universal  law  is 
manifest,  but  we  cannot  see  the  law  itself.  Everywhere 
we  see  the  manifestations  of  a  will ;  but  those  who  seek 
for  the  origin  of  Will  within  their  own  brains  will  seek  for 
it  in  vain. 

The  art  of  magic  is  the  art  of  employing  invisible  or  so- 
called  spiritual  agencies  to  obtain  certain  visible  results. 
Such  agencies  are  not  flitting  about  in  space,  ready  to  come 


22  MAGIC. 

at  the  command  of  anyone  who  has  learned  certain  incan- 
tations and  ceremonies  ;  but  they  consist  principally  in 
the  unseen  but  nevertheless  powerful  influences  of  the 
Emotions  and  the  Will,  of  desires  and  passions,  thought 
and  imagination,  love  and  hate,  fear  and  hope,  faith  and 
doubt,  etc.,  etc.  They  are  the  powers  of  what  is  called 
.the  sojul  ;  they  are  employed  everywhere  andj)y^everyp6dy 
^pypgr  rky^^nnsr.innsly  or  iinr.nnscinnsly,  willingly  or  unwil- 
lingly^ and  while  those  that  cannot  control  or  resist  such 
influences,  but  are  controlled  by  them,  are  passive  instru- 
ments, "  Mediums  "  through  which  such  unseen  powers 
act,  and  often  their  unwilling  slaves  :  those  who  arguable 
to  guide  and  control  such  influences~^y  gaming  control 
over  therpsp1vps3  are,  jn  proportion  to  their  controlling 
.capacity,  active,  and  powerful,  and  true  Magicians.  We 
see,  therefore,  that  with  the_exception  of  irresponsible 
persons,  every  one  who  has  any  will  power  is,  in  so  far  as 
he_exercises  that  power,  an  active  Magician  ;  a  wh  ite 
magician  ifjhe_employs  them  for  good,  a  black  magician  if 

'"'  fnr  thp  pi^rpn^f  f}  pf 


We  all  cannot  honestly  say  "  we  have  life;  "  for  life 
does  not  belong  to  us,  and  we  cannot  control  or  mono- 
polize it.  All  we  can  say  without  arrogance  and  presumption 
is  that  we  are  instruments  through  which  an  universal 
principle  that  produces  what  we  call  "  Life  "  manifests 
itself  in  the  form  of  a  human  being.  We  are  all  Mediums, 
through  which  an  universal  Will  which  causes  Life  acts. 
He  who  thinks  that  he  has  any  power  whatever  of  his  own, 
thinks  foolish  ;  for  all  the  powers  he  has  are  lent  him  by 
nature,  or  —  more  correctly  speaking  —  by  that  eternal 
spiritual  power,  which  acts  in  and  from  the  centre  of 
nature,  and  which  men  have  called  "  God,"  because  they 
have  found  it  to  be  the  source  of  all  good. 

No  one  will  deny  that  Man,  besides  having  physical 
powers,  is  also  temporally  endowed  with  mental  and 
spiritual  energies.  We  love,  respect  or  obey  a  person, 
not  on  account  of  his  superior  bodily  strength,  but  on  ac- 
count of  his  intellectual  and  moral  worth,  or  while  we  are 
under  the  spell  of  some  real  or  imaginary  authority  that 
we  may  believe  him  to  possess.  A  king  or  a  bishop  has, 
as  a  person,  not  necessarily  any  more  power  than  his 
lackey  or  butler,  and  must  make  himself  known  before  he 
will  be  obeyed  ;  a  captain  may  be  the  weakest  man  in  his 


THE  MACROCOSM  AND  MICROCOSM.  23 

company  and  still  his  soldiers  obey  him.  We  love  beauty, 
harmony,  and  sublimity,  not  on  account  of  their  usefulness 
for  material  purposes,  but  because  they  satisfy  an  inner 
sense,  which  does  not  belong  to  the  physical  plane. 

What  would  be  a  world  without  the  magic  power  of 
love  of  beauty  and  harmony  ?  How  would  a  world  look 
if  made  after  a  pattern  furnished  by  the  modern  '*'  rational- 
istic philosopher  "  ?  A  world  in  which  beauty  and  the  power 
of  good  were  not  recognized  could  be  nothing  else  but  a 
world  of  maniacs.  In  such  a  world  art  and  poetry  could 
not  exist,  justice  would  become  a  convenience,  honesty  be 
equivalent  with  imbecility,  to  be  truthful  would  be  to  be 
foolish,  and  Self-interest  the  only  god  worthy  of  any  con- 
sideration. 

icjs  that  science  which  deals  with  the  |nentaj_rmwgrs 
shows  what  control  he  may  exercise  over 


sglf  and  others.  In  order  to  study  the  powers  of  man  it  is 
necessary  to  investigate  what  Man  is,  and  what  relation  he 
bears  to  the  universe,  and  such  an  investigation,  if  properly 
conducted,  will  show  that  the  elements  which  compose  the 
essential  man  are  identical  with  those  we  find  in  the  uni- 
verse ;  that  is  to  say,  that  the  universe  is  the  Macrocosm, 
and  man  —  its  true  copy  —  the  Microcosm. 

Microcosmic  man  and  the  Macrocosm  of  nature  are  one. 
How  could  it  be  possible  that  the  Macrocosm  should  con- 
tain anything  not  contained  within  the  Microcosm,  or  that 
Man  should  have  something  within  his  organism  which 
cannot  be  found  within  the  grand  organism  of  nature  ?  Is 
not  man  the  child  of  nature,  and  can  there  be  anything 
within  his  constitution  which  does  not  come  from  his  eter- 
nal father  and  mother  ?  If  man's  organization  contained 
something  unnatural,  he  would  be  a  monster,  and  nature 
would  spew  him  out.  Everything  contained  in  nature  can 
be  found  within  the  organism  of  man,  and  exists  therein 
either  in  a  germinal  or  developed  state  ;  either  latent  or 
active,  and  may  be  perceived  by  him  who  possesses  the 
power  of  self-knowledge. 

We  are  born  into  a  world  in  which  we  find  ourselves 
surrounded  by  physical  objects.  There  seems  to  be  still 
another  —  a  subjective  —  world  within  us,  capable  of  receiv- 
ing and  retaining  impressions  from  the  outside  world. 
Each  one  is  a  world  of  its  own,  with  a  relation  to  space 
different  from  that  of  the  other.  Each  has  its  days  of  sun- 


24  RELIGION  AND  SCIENCE. 

shine  and  its  nights  of  darkness,  which  are  not  regulated 
by  the  days  and  nights  of  the  other ;  each  has  its  clouds 
and  its  storms,  and  shapes  and  forms  of  its  own. 

If  we  ask  of  science  to  teach  us  the  true  nature  of  these 
worlds  and  the  laws  that  govern  them — but  physical  science 
deals  only  with  external  forms — she  gives  only  a  partial 
solution  of  the  problems  of  the  objective  world,  and  leaves 
us  in  regard  to  the  subjective  world  entirely  in  the  dark. 
Modern  science  classifies  phenomena  and  describes  events, 
but  to  describe  how  an  event  takes  place  is  not  sufficient 
to  explain  why  it  takes  place.  To  discover  causes,  which 
are  in  themselves  the  effects  of  unknown  primal  causes, 
is  only  to  evade  one  difficulty  by  substituting  another. 
Science  describes  some  of  the  attributes  of  things,  but  the 
first  causes  which  brought  these  attributes  into  existence 
are  unknown  to  her,  and  will  remain  so,  until  her  powers 
of  perception  will  penetrate  in  the  unseen. 

Besides  scientific  observation  there  claims  to  be  still 
another  way  to  obtain  knowledge  of  the  mysterious  side  of 
nature.  The  religious  teachers  of  the  world  claim  to  have 
sounded  the  depths  which  the  scientists  cannot  reach. 
Their  doctrines  are  supposed  by  many  to  have  been 
received  through  certain  divine  or  angelic  revelations,  pro- 
ceeding from  a  supreme,  infinite,  omnipresent,  and  yet 
personal — and  therefore  limited — Being — the  existence  of 
which  has  never  been  proved.  Where  is  the  proof  that 
such  revelations  are  either  true  or  divine  ?  Surely,  a 
blind  belief  in  the  contents  of  a  book  cannot  be  real  know- 
ledge ;  nor  can  it  be  reasonably  supposed  that  the  theo- 
logians themselves  have  any  actual  knowledge  of  what 
they  teach.  We  dare  say  that  there  are  but  few  clergymen 
who  are  personally  acquainted  with  God.  Nevertheless 
thousands  are  engaged  in  teaching  others  that  which  they 
themselves  do  not  know,  and  in  spite  of  a  very  great 
number  of  religious  systems  there  is  comparatively  little 
religion  at  present  upon  the  Earth. 

The  term  Religion  is  derived  from  the  Latin  word  re- 
ligere,  which  may  be  properly  translated  "  to  bind  back," 
or  to  "  relate."  Religion,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  term, 
implies  that  science  which  examines  the  link  which  exists 
between  man  and  the  cause  from  which  he  originated,  or 
in  other  words,  which  deals  with  the  relation  which  exists 
between  man  and  the  world  of  causes.  True  religion  is 


MYSTIC.  25 

therefore  a  science  far  higher  than  a  science  based  upon 
mere  sensual  perception,  but  it  cannot  be  in  conflict  with 
what  is  true  in  science.  Only  what  is  false  in  science  must 
necessarily  be  in  conflict  with  what  is  true  in  religion,  and 
what  is  false  in  religion  is  in  conflict  with  what  is  true  in 
science.  True  religion  and  true  science  are  ultimately  one 
and  the  same  thing ;  a  religion  that  clings  to  illusions,  and 
an  illusory  science,  are  equally  false,  and  the  greater  the 
obstinacy  with  which  they  cling  to  their  illusions  the  more 
pernicious  is  their  effect. 

There  should  a  distinction  be  made  between  "  religion  " 
and  "  religionism  ;  "  between  "  science  "  and  "  sclent  ism  ; " 
between  "mystic"  and  "  "mysticism" 

The  highest  aspect  of  Religion  is  practically  the  union  of 
man  with  the  Supreme  First  Cause,  from  which  his  essence 
emanated  in  the  beginning. 

Its  second  aspect  teaches  tne  relations  existing  between 
that  Great  First  Cause  and  Man ;  in  other  words,  the  re- 
lations existing  between  the  Macrocosm  and  Microcosm. 

In  its  lowest  aspect  religionism  consists  of  the  adulation 
of  dead  forms,  of  the  worshipping  of  fetiches,  of  fruitless 
attempts  to  wheedle  oneself  into  the  favor  of  some  imagin- 
ary deity,  to  persuade  "  God  "  to  change  his  mind,  and  to 
try  to  obtain  some  favors  which  are  not  in  accordance  with 
justice. 

Science  in  her  highest  aspect  is  the  self-knowledge  of  the 
fundamental  laws  of  Nature,  and  is  therefore  a  spiritual 
science,  based  upon  the  knowledge  of  the  spirit  within  our 
own  selves. 

In  her  lower  aspect  it  is  a  knowledge  of  external  phe- 
nomena, and  the  secondary  or  superficial  causes  which 
produce  the  latter,,  and  which  our  scientism  mistakes  for 
the  final  cause. 

In  its  lowest  aspect  scientism  is  a  system  of  observation 
and  classification  of  external  phenomena,  of  the  causes  of 
which  we  know  nothing. 

Religionism  and  Scientism  are  continually  subject  to 
changes.  They  have  been  created  by  illusions,  and  die 
when  the  illusions  are  over.  True  Science  and  true 
Religion  are  one,  and  if  joined  to  Practice,  they  form  the 
three-lateral  pyramid,  whose  foundations  are  upon  the 
earth,  and  whose  point  reaches  to  heaven. 

Mystic  in   its   true   meaning   is   spiritual   knowledge ; 


26  MYSTICISM. 

that  is  to  say,  the  knowledge  of  spiritual  and  "  super- 
sensual  "  things,  perceived  by  the  spiritual  powers  of  per- 
ception. These  powers  are  germinally  contained  in  every 
human  organization,  but  only  few  have  developed  them 
sufficiently  to  be  of  any  practical  use. 

Mysticism  is  a  hankering  after  illusions,  a  desire  to  pry 
into  mysteries  which  we  cannot  comprehend,  a  craving  to 
satisfy  our  curiosity  in  regard  to  what  we  ought  not  to  know, 
as  long  as  we  have  not  the  power  to  understand  it.  It  is  the 
realm  of  fancies,  of  dreams,  the  paradise  of  ghost-seers, 
and  of  spiritistic  tomfooleries  of  all  kinds. 

But  which  is  the  true  religion  and  the  true  science? 
There  is  no  doubt  that  a  definite  relationship  exists 
between  Man  and  the  cause  that  called  humanity  into  ex- 
istence, and  a  true  religion  and  a  true  science  must  be  the 
one  which  teaches  the  true  terms  of  that  relation.  If  we 
take  a  superficial  view  of  the  various  religious  systems  of 
the  world,  we  find  them  all  apparently  contradicting  each 
other.  We  find  a  great  mass  of  apparent  superstitions  and 
absurdities  heaped  upon  a  grain  of  something  that  may  be 
true.  We  admire  the  ethics  and  moral  doctrines  of  our 
favorite  religious  system,  and  we  take  its  theological 
rubbish  in  our  bargain,  forgetting  that  the  ethics  of  nearly 
all  religions  are  essentially  the  same,  and  that  the  rubbish 
which  surrounds  them  is  not  real  religion.  It  is  evidently 
an  absurdity  to  believe  that  any  system  could  be  true,  un- 
less it  contained  the  truth.  But  it  is  equally  evident  that 
a  thing  cannot  be  true  and  false  at  the  same  time.  The 
truth  can  only  be  one.  The  truth  never  changes  ;  but  we 
ourselves  change,  and  as  we  change  so  changes  our  aspect  of 
the  truth.  The  various  religious  systems  of  the  world  can- 
not be  unnatural  or  supernatural  products.  They  are  all 
the  natural  outgrowth  of  man's  evolution  upon  this  globe, 
and  they  differ  only  in  so  far  as  the  conditions  under  which 
they  came  into  existence  differed  at  the  time  when  they 
began  to  exist ;  but  true  religion  is  supernatural ;  for  it  is 
that  clinging  of  the  soul  of  man  to  that  which  is  higher 
than  his  semi-animal  and  impermanent  nature.  Each  in- 
tellectual human  being,  except  one  blinded  by  prejudice, 
recognizes  the  fact  that  each  of  the  great  religious  systems 
of  the  world  contains  certain  truths,  which  we  intuitively 
know  to  be  true  ;  and  as  there  can  be  only  one  fundamen- 
tal truth,  so  all  these  religions  are  branches  of  the  same 


TRUTH.  27 

tree,  even  if  the  forms  in  which  the  truth  manifests  itself 
are  not  alike.  The  sunshine  is  everywhere  the  same,  only 
its  intensity  differs  in  different  localities.  In  one  place  it 
induces  the  growth  of  palms,  in  another  of  mushrooms ; 
but  there  is  only  one  Sun  in  our  system.  The  processes 
going  on  on  the  physical  plane  have  their  analogies  in  the 
spiritual  realm,  for  there  is  only  one  Nature,  one  Law. 

If  one  person  quarrels  with  another  about  religion,  he 
cannot  have  the  true  religion,  nor  can  he  have  any  true 
knowledge.  The  only  true  religion  is  the  religion  of  Love, 
and  love  does  not  quarrel.  Love  is  an  element  of  Wisdom, 
and  there  can  be  no  wisdom  without  love.  Each  species 
of  birds  in  the  woods  sings  a  different  tune ;  but  the  prin- 
ciple which  causes  them  to  sing  is  the  same  in  each.  They 
do  not  quarrel  with  each  other,  because  one  can  sing 
better  than  the  rest.  Moreover,  religious  disputations, 
with  their  resulting  animosities,  are  the  most  useless  things 
in  the  world  ;  for  no  one  can  combat  the  darkness  by 
fighting  it  with  a  stick ;  the  only  way  to  remove  darkness 
is  to  kindle  a  light,  the  only  way  to  dispel  spiritual  igno- 
rance is  to  let  the  light  of  knowledge  that  comes  from  the 
centre  of  love  shine  into  the  heart. 

All  religions  are  based  upon  internal  truth,  all  have  an 
outside  ornamentation  which  varies  in  character  in  the 
different  systems,  but  all  have  the  same  foundation  of 
truth,  and  if  we  compare  the  various  systems  with  one 
another,  looking  below  the  surface  of  exterior  forms,  we 
find  that  this  truth  is  in  all  religious  systems  one  and  the 
same.  In  all  this  truth  has  been  hidden  beneath  a  more  or 
less  allegorical  language,  impersonal  and  invisible  powers 
have  been  personified  and  represented  in  images  carved  in 
stones  or  wood,  and  the  formless  and  real  has  been  pictured 
in  illusive  forms.  These  forms  in  letters,  and  pictures,  and 
images  are  the  means  by  which  truths  may  be  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  unripe  Mind.  They  are  to  the  grown- 
up children  of  all  nations  what  picture-books  are  to  small 
children  who  are  not  yet  able  to  read,  and  it  would  be  as 
unreasonable  to  deprive  grown-up  children  of  their  images 
before  they  are  able  to  read  in  their  own  hearts,  as  it 
would  be  to  take  away  the  picture-books  from  little  children 
and  to  ask  them  to  read  printed  books,  which  they  cannot 
yet  understand. 

Very  stupid  indeed  and  insignificant  would  be  the  stories 


28  FICTION. 

contained  in  the  Bible,  and  in  other  religious  books,  if  the 
personal  events  described  therein  were  referring  merely  to 
certain  occurrences  having  happened  in  the  lives  of  certain 
individuals  who  lived  some  thousands  of  years  ago,  and 
whose  biography  can  seriously  interest  no  one  to-day. 
What  do  we  care  now  about  the  family  affairs  of  a  man 
called  Adam  or  Abraham  ?  Why  should  we  want  to  be 
interested  in  knowing  how  many  legitimate  or  illegitimate 
children  the  Patriarchs  had,  and  what  became  of  them  ? 
What  is  it  to  us  whether  or  not  a  man  by  the  name  of 
Jonah  was  thrown  into  the  water  and  swallowed  by  a 
whale  ?  What  happens  to-day  in  the  various  countries  of 
Europe  is  more  interesting  and  important  for  us  to  know 
than  what  happened  at  the  court  of  Zerubabel  or  Nabu- 
chodonoser. 

But  fortunately  for  the  Bible  and — if  we  only  knew 
how  to  read  it — fortunately  for  us,  the  stories  contained 
therein  are  by  no  means  merely  histories  of  persons  who 
lived  in  ancient  times,  but  they  are  allegories  and  myths 
having  very  often  a  very  deep  meaning,  of  which  our  ex- 
pounders of  the  Bible,  as  well  as  its  critics,  usually  know 
very  little.  Fictions  are  necessary  to  represent  truths ; 
but  they  should  not  be  mistaken  for  the  truth  itself.  The 
truth  is  eternal,  and  cannot  be  grasped  by  that  which  is 
neither  eternal  nor  true.  We  need  fictions  to  bring  it 
within  our  grasp  as  long  as  we  have  ourselves  merely  a 
fictitious  existence. 

The  men  and  the  women  of  the  old  and  new  "  testa- 
ment "  are  much  more  than  mere  persons  supposed  to 
have  existed  at  that  time.  They  are  personifications  of 
eternally  active  spiritual  forces,  of  which  physical  science 
does  not  even  know  that  they  exist ;  and  their  histories 
give  an  account  of  their  action,  their  interrelations  within 
the  Macrocosm  and  its  counterpart  the  Microcosm  ;  they 
teach  the  history  of  the  evolution  of  mankind  in  its 
spiritual  aspect. 

If  our  natural  philosophers  would  study  the  Bible  in  its 
esoteric  and  spiritual  aspects,  they  might  learn  a  great 
many  things  which  they  desire  to  know.  They  might 
learn  to  find  out  what  are  the  true  powers  of  the  "  living 
faith,"  and  which  are  required  to  produce  occult  pheno- 
mena at  will ;  they  might  find  instruction  how  to  trans- 
mute lead  or  iron  into  pure  gold,  and  to  transform 
animals  into  gods. 


INTUITION.  29 

But  it  is  a  truth,  based  upon  natural  laws,  that  man  can 
see  nothing  except  that  which  exists  in  his  mind.  If  his 
mind  is  filled  with  illusions,  he  will  see  nothing  but  illu- 
sions, and  the  deepest  of  symbols  will  be  pictures  without 
meaning  to  him. 

If  our  children — the  big  ones  as  well  as  the  little  ones 
— are  only  looking  at  the  pictures  without  learning  the 
text,  they  are  apt  to  grow  to  believe  the  pictorial  repre- 
sentations to  be  the  very  things  they  are  intended  to 
represent ;  they  become  accustomed  to  forget  that  forms 
are  only  illusions,  and  that  formless  realities  cannot  be 
seen.  It  is  so  much  easier  to  believe  than  to  think. 
Children  should  not  linger  over  their  picture-books  so  long 
as  to  neglect  their  higher  education.  Humanity  has  out- 
grown the  infancy  of  its  present  cycle,  and  asks  for  more 
intellectual  food ;  the  age  of  superstition  is  passing  away, 
and  the  demand  is  not  for  opinions  but  for  knowledge,  and 
knowledge  cannot  be  obtained  without  an  effort.  The 
expressed  opinion  of  one  person  can  only  give  rise  to 
knowledge  in  another,  if  corroborated  by  the  same  or  a 
similar  experience  of  the  latter.  A  person  can  only  truly 
believe  that  which  he  knows,  and  he  can  only  actually 
know  that  which  he  has  perceived. 

There  is  a  difference  between  perceiving  and  under- 
standing the  truth.  We  may  perceive  the  truth  with  our 
heart,  and  we  understand  it  with  our  brain.  In  other 
words :  We  may  feel  the  truth  intuitively,  and  examine  it 
intellectually.  If  our  present  generation  would  cultivate 
the  faculty  of  feeling  the  truth  with  their  hearts,  and  after- 
wards examine  that  which  they  feel  by  means  of  their  in- 
tellect, we  would  soon  have  a  fa*  better  and  happier  state 
of  society  everywhere.  But  the^  great  curse  of  our  age  is 
that  the  intellectual  faculties  are  strained  to  their  utmost 
power  of  resistance,  to  examine  the  external  form  of  things 
intellectually  without  perceiving  their  spiritual  character 
by  the  power  of  intuition. 

Men,  instead  of  living  in  the  sanctuary  of  the  temples 
which  they  inhabit,  are  continually  absent  from  there, 
and  reside  in  the  garret  under  the  roof,  looking  out  through 
the  windows  of  the  garret  after  the  illusions  of  life.  Day 
and  night  they  stand  there  and  watch,  careful  that  none  of 
the  passing  illusions  may  escape  their  observation,  and 
while  their  attention  is  absorbed  by  these  idle  shows,  the 


3o  OPINION. 

thieves  enter  the  house  and  the  sanctuary  without  being 
seen,  and  steal  away  the  treasures.  Then  at  the  time 
when  the  house  is  destroyed,  and  death  appears,  the  soul 
returns  to  the  heart  and  finds  it  empty  and  desolate,  and 
all  the  illusions  that  occupied  the  brain  during  life  fly  away, 
and  man  is  left  poor  indeed,  because  he  has  not  perceived 
the  truth  in  his  heart. 

The  real  object  of  a  religious  system  should  therefore  be 
to  teach  a  way  by  which  a  person  may  develop  the  power 
to  perceive  the  truth.  To  ask  a  man  to  believe  in  the 
opinion  expressed  by  another,  and  to  remain  satisfied  with 
such  a  belief,  is  to  ask  him  to  remain  ignorant,  and  to 
trust  to  another  person  more  than  to  himself.  A  person 
without  knowledge  can  have  no  conviction — no  faith,  and 
his  adoption  of  one  particular  system  depends  on  the  cir- 
cumstances under  which  he  is  born,  or  brought  up,  or  sur- 
rounded. He  is  most  liable  to  adopt  that  system  which 
his  parents  or  neighbors  have  inherited  or  adopted,  and  if 
he  changes  from  one  system  to  another,  he,  generally 
speaking,  does  so  from  mere  sentimentality,  or  on  account 
of  some  selfish  consideration,  expecting  to  obtain  some 
benefit  to  himself  by  that  change.  From  a  spiritual  stand- 
point he  will  gain  nothing  under  such  circumstances  ; 
because,  to  approach  the  truth,  he  must  love  the  truth  for 
its  own  sake,  and  not  on  account  of  the  personal  advantage 
that  it  may  bring ;  from  an  intellectual  standpoint  he  will 
gain  little  or  nothing  by  exchanging  one  superstition  for 
another.  The  only  way  by  which  Man  can  hope  to  arrive 
at  the  truth  is  to  love  the  truth  on  account  of  its  being  the 
truth,  and  to  free  his  mind  from  all  prejudices  and  predi- 
lections, so  that  its  light  may  penetrate  into  the  mind. 

What  is  the  religionism  of  to-day,  but  a  religion  of  fear  ? 
Men  do  not  wish  to  avoid  vice,  but  they  wish  to  avoid  the 
punishment  for  having  indulged  in  vice.  Their  experience 
teaches  them  that  the  laws  of  nature  are  unchangeable,  but 
nevertheless  they  continue  to  act  against  the  universal 
law.  They  claim  to  believe  in  a  God  who  is  unchangeable, 
and  yet  tney  implore  His  assistance  if  they  desire  to  break 
His  own  law.  When  will  they  rise  up  to  the  true  con- 
ception that  the  only  possible  God  is  that  universal  power 
which  acts  through  the  law,  which  is  itself  the  Law,  and 
cannot  be  changed?  To  break  the  law  is  identical  with 
breaking  the  God  within  ourselves,  and  the  only  way  to 


SELF-KNOWLEDGE.  31 

obtain  forgiveness  after  He  is  broken  is  to  restore  the  law, 
and  to  create  a  new  God  within  ourselves. 

It  may  be  well  to  study  the  opinions  of  others,  and  to 
store  them  up  in  the  book  of  our  memory,  but  we  should 
not  accept  them  on  any  merely  external  evidence,  nor 
reject  them  without  investigation,  but  weigh  them  in  the 
scales  of  reason  and  justice.  Even  the  teachings  of  the 
world's  greatest  Adepts,  unimpeachable  as  they  may  be, 
can  only  instruct  us,  but  give  us  no  real  knowledge.  They 
can  show  the  way,  but  we  must  take  ourselves  the  steps  on 
the  ladder.  Were  we  to  recognise  their  dictum  as  the  final 
aim,  to  be  accepted  without  any  further  investigation,  we 
should  again  fall  back  into  a  system  of  belief  for  the  sake 
of  authority.  Knowledge  gives  strength,  doubt  paralyzes 
the  will.  A  man  who  does  not  believe  that  he  is  able  to 
walk  will  not  be  able  to  walk  as  long  as  he  does  not 
believe ;  a  man  who  knows  by  experience  that  he  can 
command  himself  will  be  able  to  do  so.  He  who  can  com- 
mand himself  can  command  that  which  is  below  him, 
because  the  low  is  controlled  by  the  high,  and  «_there  Jte~ 
nothing  higher_than  Mn.n  Jbiayiiig_Qbtained..a.  pejfectJoiow- 
Jedge _pf  Self.  '" 

The  knowledge  of  Self  is  identical  with  Self-knowledge, 
because  the^true  selj.ot'  Man  is  God  ;  itis_unlimited1_and 
knowing  its  own  self  it  knows  everything  by  its  own  power. 
It  is  knowledge  independent  of  any  opinions,  dogmas  or 
doctrines,  no  matter  from  what  authority  they  may  pro- 
ceed. If  we  study  the  teachings  of  any  supposed  authority 
external  to  our  own  selves,  we  at  best  know  what  the 
opinion  of  such  an  authority  is  in  regard  to  the  truth,  but 
we  do  not  necessarily  arrive  thereby  at  a  self-knowledge  of 
the  truth.  If  we,  for  instance,  learn  what  Christ  taught 
about  God,  we  are  only  informed  of  what  he  knew  or 
believed  to  know,  but  we  cannot  know  God  for  all  that, 
unless  we  awaken  to  a  realization  of  his  presence  within 
our  own  heart.  The  knowledge  of  even  the  wisest  of  all 
men,  if  communicated  to  us,  will  be  to  us  nothing  more 
than  an  opinion,  as  long  as  it  is  not  experienced  within  our 
own  selves.  As  long  as  we  cannot  penetrate  within  the 
soul  of  Man,  we  can  know  little  more  about  him  but  his 
corporeal  form  ;  but  how  could  we  penetrate  within  the 
soul  of  another  as  long  as  we  have  not  the  capacity  to  enter 
our  own  ?  ThereforeJ:he  beginning  of  all  real  knowledge 
is  theJkn^wledge^oLSeif. 


32  SPE  CULA  TIONS. 

Does  "  rationalistic  "  speculation  confer  any  true  know- 
ledge of  Man  ?  The  range  of  her  power  of  observation  is 
limited  by  the  perceptive  power  of  her  physical  senses, 
assisted  by  physical  instruments  ;  she  has  no  means  to 
investigate  that  which  transcends  physical  sense,  she  can- 
not enter  the  temple  of  the  unseen,  she  only  knows  the 
external  form  in  which  the  reality  dwells.  She  only  knows 
the  illusive  form  of  man,  she  knows  nothing  whatever  of 
the  essential  and  real  man.  In  vain  shall  we  look  to  her 
for  the  solution  of  the  problem,  which  thousands  of  years 
ago  the  Egyptian  Sphinx  propounded. 

Do  the  popular  religious  systems  confer  any  true  know- 
ledge of  Man  ?  The  conception  which  the  average  theolo* 
gian  has  of  the  mysterious  being  called  man  is  as  little  as 
that  of  the  professor  of  modern  science.  He  looks  upon 
man  as  a  personal  being,  isolated  from  other  personal 
beings  around  whose  infinite  little  personality  centres  the 
interests  of  the  infinitely  great.  He  forgets  that  the 
founders  upon  the  principal  religious  systems  taught  that 
the  original  and  essential  man  (Adam)  was  an  impersonal 
power,  that  the  real  man  (the  Christ)  is  a  whole  and  cannot 
be  divided,  and  that  the  personal  man  is  only  the  tempor- 
ary temple  in  which  the  universal  spirit  resides.* 

The  misconceptions  arising  from  ignorance  of  the  true 
nature  of  Man  are  the  cause  that  the  popular  religious 
opinions  held  by  the  average  theologians  in  Christian  and 
Pagan  countries  are  based  upon  selfishness,  contrary  to  the 
spirit  of  that  which  true  religion  teaches.  Christians  and 
"  Heathens  "  clamor  for  some  personal  benefit  to  be  con- 
ferred by  some  imaginary  person  upon  their  insignificant 
personal  self,  either  here  or  in  the  problematical  hereafter. 
Each  one  of  such  short-sighted  persons  wants  to  be  saved 
himself  above  all,  the  salvation  of  the  rest  is  a  matter  of 
second  consideration.  They  expect  to  obtain  some  benefit 
which  they  do  not  deserve,  to  wheedle  themselves  into  the 
favor  of  some  personal  deity,  to  cheat  the  "  devil  "  of  his 
just  dues,  and  to  smuggle  their  imperfections  into  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven. 

The  only  reasonable  object  which  any  external  religious 
system  can  possibly  have,  is  to  elevate  man  from  a  lower 


*  Bible  :  Corinth,  iii.  16. 


SELFISHNESS.  33 

state  to  a  higher  one,  in  which  he  can  form  a  better  con- 
ception of  his  true  dignity  as  a  member  of  the  human 
family.  If  there  is  any  possibility  of  imparting  to  a  man  a 
knowledge  of  self,  the  churches  are  the  places  where  such 
a  knowledge  should  be  imparted ;  but  to  accomplish  this 
the  claims  of  the  spirit  should  predominate  over  those  of 
the  form,  the  interests  of  religion  and  the  interests  of  the 
"  Church  "  would  have  to  cease  to  be  amalgamated,  and 
the  Church  should  again  be  founded  upon  the  rock  of  the 
living  faith  instead  of  the  craving  to  obtain  some  selfish 
personal  benefit  in  this  world  or  in  the  hereafter. 

He  who  is  led  by  selfish  considerations  cannot  enter  a 
heaven  where  personal  considerations  do  not  exist.  He 
who  does  not  care  for  Heaven  but  is  contented  where  he 
is,  is  already  in  Heaven,  while  the  discontented  will  in 
vain  clamor  for  it.  To  be  without  personal  desires  is  to 
be  free  and  happy,  and  "  Heaven  "  can  mean  nothing  else 
but  a  state  in  which  freedom  and  happiness  exist.  The 
man  who  performs  beneficial  acts  induced  by  a  hope  of 
reward  is  not  happy  unless  the  reward  is  obtained. 

A  man  who  performs  a  good  act  with  the  hope  of  reward 
is  not  free.  He  is  the  servant  of  Self,  and  works  for  the 
benefit  of  Self  and  not  for  absolute  Good.  It  is,  therefore, 
not  the  power  of  Good  which  will  reward  him,  he  can  only 
expect  that  reward  from  his  own  personal  Self. 

The  man  who  performs  evil  acts,  induced  by  a  selfish 
motive,  is  not  free.  He  who  desires  evil  and  is  restrained 
by  fear  is  not  his  own  master.  He  who  recognizes  the 
supreme  power  of  the  universe  in  his  own  heart  has  become 
free.  He  whose  will  is  swayed  by  his  lower  personal  self 
is  the  slave  of  his  person,  but  he  who  has  conquered  that 
lower  self  enters  the  higher  life. 

The  science  of  Life  consists  in  subduing  the  low  and 
elevating  the  high.  Its  first  lesson  is  how  to  free  oneself 
from  the  love  of  self,  the  first  angel  of  evil. 

This  "  Self"  is  composed  of  a  great  many  selves  or  /'s, 
of  which  each  one  has  his  peculiar  claims,  and  whose 
demands  grow  in  proportion  as  we  attempt  to  satisfy  them. 
They  are  the  semi-intellectual  forces  of  the  soul  that  would 
rend  the  soul  to  pieces  if  they  were  allowed  to  grow,  and 
which  must  be  subdued  by  the  power  of  the  real  Master, 
the  superior  "  I " — the  Spirit. 

These  "  fs  "  are  the  Elementals,  of  which  has  been  said 
2 


34  EGGPS. 

so  much  in  occult  literature.  They  are  not  imaginary 
things,  but  living  forces,  and  they  may  be  perceived  by  him 
who  has  acquired  the  power  to  look  within  his  own  soul. 
Each  of  these  forces  corresponds  to  some  desire,  and  if  it 
is  permitted  to  grow  is  symbolized  by  the  form  of  the  ani- 
mal which  corresponds  to  its  nature.  At  first  they  are 
thin  and  shadowy,  but  as  the  desire  which  corresponds  to 
them  is  indulged  in,  they  become  more  and  more  dense, 
and  gain  great  strength  as  our  desires  grow  into  a  passion. 
The  lesser  Elementals  are  swallowed  by  the  bigger  ones, 
the  little  desires  are  absorbed  by  the  stronger  ones, 
until  perhaps  at  last  one  Master  Passion,  one  powerful 
Elemental  remains.  They  are  described  as  having  the 
form  of  snakes  and  tigers,  hogs,  insatiable  wolves,  etc.,  but 
as  they  are  often  the  result  of  a  mixture  of  human  and 
animal  elements,  they  do  not  merely  exhibit  purely  animal 
forms  ;  but  frequently  they  look  like  animals  with  human 
heads,  or  like  men  with  animal  members ;  they  appear 
under  endless  varieties  of  shapes,  because  there  is  an  end- 
less variety  of  correlations  and  mixtures  of  lust,  avarice, 
greed,  sensual  love,  ambition,  cowardice,  fear,  terror,  hate, 
pride,  vanity,  self-conceit,  stupidity,  voluptuousness,  self- 
ishness, jealousy,  envy,  arrogance,  hypocrisy,  cunning, 
sophistry,  imbecility,  superstition,  etc.,  etc. 

They  constitute  the  false  "  I's  "  or  "  Egos  "  in  man  ;  for 
even  if  man  in  his  self-conceit  may  imagine  that  he  knows 
his  true  self,  and  that  this  self  is  only  one,  a  deeper  thought 
will  convince  him  that  he  is  not  self-existent,  but  an  ever, 
changing  product  of  nature.  He  will  then  see  that,  as  long 
as  God  has  not  awakened  in  his  soul,  he  is  not  truly  self- 
conscious  ;  but  that  it  is  Nature,  having  become  self-con- 
scious in  his  organism;  creating  therein  these  various 
states  of  self-consciousness,  each  of  which  he  mistakes  for 
his  own  true  self. 

These  Elementals  live  in  the  soul-realm  of  man  as  long 
as  he  lives,  and  grow  strong  and  fat,  for  they  live  on  his 
life-principle,  and  are  fed  by  the  substance  of  his  thoughts. 
They  may  even  become  objective  to  him,  if  during  a 
paroxysm  of  fear  or  in  consequence  of  some  disease  they* 
are  enabled  to  step  out  of  their  sphere.  They  cannot  be 
killed  by  pious  ceremonies,  nor  be  driven  away  by  the  ex- 
hortations of  a  clergyman  ;  they  are  only  destroyed  by  the 
power  of  the  spiritual  Will  of  man,  which  annihilates 


INTELLECTUAL  GERMS.  35 

them  as  the  light  annihilates  darkness,  or  as  a  stroke  of 
lightning  rends  the  clouds. 

Only  those  who  have  awakened  to  spiritual  conscious- 
ness can  have  that  spiritual  will,  of  which  the  non-regene- 
rated know  nothing.  But  those  who  are  not  yet  so  far 
advanced  may  cause  those  elementals  to  die  slowly,  by 
withdrawing  from  them  the  food  which  they  require,  that 
is  to  say,  by  avoiding  all  desires  and  thoughts  which  cor- 
respond to  their  character.  They  will  then  begin  to  wane, 
to  get  sick,  die  and  putrefy  like  a  member  of  the  body  which 
has  become  mortified.  A  line  of  demarkation  will  be 
formed  in  the  soul-body  of  man,  there  may  be  "  inflamma- 
tion "  and  suffering.  A  process,  similar  to  that  which  takes 
place  if  a  gangrenous  part  of  the  physical  body  is  chrown 
off,  takes  place ;  and  at  last  the  putrid  carcass  of  the  Ele- 
mental drops  off  and  dissolves. 

These  descriptions  are  neither  fancies  nor  allegories. 
Theophrastus  Paracelsus,  Jacob  Boehme^  and  many  other 
writers  on  Occultism  write  about  them,  and  a  due  appre- 
ciation of  their  doctrines  will  go  far  to  explain  many 
occurrences  mentioned  in  the  history  of  witchcraft,  and  in 
the  legends  of  the  lives  of  the  saints. 

But  there  are  not  merely  animal  germs  within  the  realm 
of  the  soul  of  man.  In  each  human  constitution  there  are 
also  the  germs  which  go  to  make  up  a  Shakespeare,  a 
Washington,  Goethe,  Voltaire,  a  Buddha,  or  Christ.  There 
are  likewise  the  germs  which  may  grow  to  make  a  Nero, 
Messalina  or  Torquemada ;  and  each  germ  may  develop 
and  take  a  form,  and  ultimately  find  its  expression  and  re- 
flection in  the  outward  form,  as  much  as  the  density  of  the 
material  atoms,  which  are  slow  to  transform,  will  permit ; 
for  each  character  corresponds  to  a  form,  and  each  form  to 
a  character. 

Maja!sjnicrocosm  is  a  garden  in  which  all  kimlsjpjLliying 
s  grow^     Some  are  poisonousT^ome  arelvholesome 
plants.     It  rests  with  man  to  decide  which  germs  he  wants 
to  develop  into  a  hying  tree,  and  that  tree  wiUJbe.himself. 
There  are  within  him  the  germs  of  Inajterandsoul  and 
of  spiritual  activity  ;  in  him  are  the~~seecis   from,  which 
pringTntellectual  and  emotional  functions,  and  the  deepest* 
of  all  is  the  hidden  will  at  the  centre ;  the  spirit,  which  is 
oIbecome~tKe  immortal  man ;  thejrue  Self. 

To  accomplish  this  task  it  is  not  necessary  to  become  a 


36  RENUNCIATION. 

misanthrope  and  retire  into  a  jungle  to  feed  on  the  pro- 
ducts of  one's  own  morbid  imagination ;  the  struggle 
caused  by  the  petty  annoyances  of  everyday  life  is  the  best 
school  to  exercise  the  will  power  for  those  that  have  not 
yet  gained  the  mastery  over  Self.  "To  renounce  the 
vanities  of  the  world  "  does  not  mean  to  look  with  con- 
tempt upon  the  progress  of  the  world,  to  remain  ignorant 
of  mathematics  and  logic,  to  take  no  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  humanity,  to  avoid  the  duties  of  life  or  neglect  one's 
family.  Such  a  proceeding  would  accomplish  the  very  re- 
verse of  what  is  intended ;  it  would  increase  the  love  of 
self,  it  would  concentrate  the  soul  to  a  small  focus  instead 
of  expanding  it  over  the  world.  "To  renounce  one's 
S£lf"means  to  conquer  the  sense  of  personality  and~to  free 
one's  seir,of  the^Iove  of  things  which  that  personality 
.desires.  It  means  "to  live  in  the  world,  but  not  cling  to 
the  world/'  t°  substitute  universal  love  for  persona^  love, 
and  to  consider  the  interests  of  the  whole  of  superior  im- 
^pjortancethan  personal  claims.  The  renunciation  of  self 
is  necessarily  followed  by  spiritual  growth.  As  we  forget 
our  personal  self,  we  attach  less  importance  to  personali- 
ties, personal  things,  and  personal  feelings.  We  begin  to 
look  upon  ourselves  not  as  being  permanent,  unchanging 
and  unchangeable  entities,  standing  isolated  among  other 
isolated  entities,  and  being  separated  from  them  by  im- 
penetrable shells,  but  as  parts  of  an  infinite  power,  which 
embraces  the  universe,  and  whose  powers  are  concentrated 
and  brought  to  a  focus  in  the  bodies  which  we  temporarily 
inhabit,  into  which  bodies  continually  flow  and  from  which 
are  incessantly  radiating  the  rays  of  an  infinite  sphere  of 
light,  whose  circumference  is  endless  and  whose  centre  is 
everywhere. 

Upon  the  recognition  and  realization  of  this  truth  rests 
the  only  true  religion,  the  Religion  of  the  Universal  Love 
of  all  Beings.  As  long  as  man  takes  only  his  own  little 
self  into  consideration  in  his  thoughts  and  acts,  the  sphere 
of  his  mind  becomes  necessarily  narrow.  All  ourjpopular 
religious  sects_  are  basejd  Tipp™  splfish  considerations. 
Each  of  our  religious  sectarians  speculates  to  obtain  some 
spiritual,  if  not  material,  benefit  for  himself.  Each  one 
wants  to  be  saved  by  somebody ;  first  he,  and  then  per- 
haps the  others  ;  but,  above  all,  he  himself.  The  true 
religion  of  universal  Love  knows  of  no  "self." 


SACRIFICE.  37 

Even  the  desire  to  go  to  heaven  or  enter  the  state  of 
Nirvana,  is,  after  all,  but  a  selfish  desire,  and  as  long  as 
man  has  any  selfish  desires  whatever,  his  mind  perceives 
only  his  own  self.  Only  when  he  ceases  to  have  a  limited 
illusive  "self"  will  his  real  self  become  unlimited  and  be 
omnipresent.  He  who  desires  unlimited  knowledge  must 
rise  above  limitation. 

Looked  at  from  that  height,  the  personality  appears 
exceedingly  small  and  insignificant,  and  of  little  import- 
ance. Man  appears  as  the  centralization  of  an  idea,  per- 
sons and  peoples  like  living  grains  of  sand  on  the  shore  of 
an  infinite  ocean.  Fortune,  fame,  love,  luxury,  etc., 
assume  in  his  conception  the  importance  of  soap-bubbles, 
and  he  has  no  hesitation  in  relinquishing  them  as  the  idle 
playthings  of  children.  Neither  can  such  a  renunciation 
be  called  a  sacrifice,  for  grown-up  boys  and  girls  do  not 
*'  sacrifice  "  their  popguns  and  dolls,  they  simply  do  not 
want  them  any  longer.  In  proportion  as  their  minds 
expand,  do  they  reach  out  for  something  more  useful,  and 
as  a  man's  spirit  expands,  his  surroundings,  and  even  the 
planet  on  which  he  lives,  appear  to  him  small  as  a  land- 
scape seen  from  a  great  distance,  or  from  a  high  mountain, 
while  at  the  same  time  his  conception  of  the  infinite  grows 
larger  and  assumes  a  gigantic  form.  This  expansion  of 
our  existence  "  robs  us  of  a  country  and  a  home  "  *  by 
making  us  citizens  of  the  grand  universe ;  it  separates  us 
from  our  mortal  parents  and  friends  to  unite  us  with  them 
for  ever  as  our  immortal  brothers  and  sisters  ;  it  lifts  us  up 
from  the  narrow  confines  of  the  illusory  form  to  the  unlim- 
ited realm  of  the  Ideal,  and  releasing  man  from  the  prison- 
house  of  insignificant  clay,  it  leads  him  to  the  sublime 
splendor  of  Eternal  and  Universal  Life. 

Every  form  of  life,  the  human  form  not  excepted,  is 
nothing  more  than  a  focus  in  which  the  energies  of  the 
universal  principle  of  life  are  concentrated,  and  the  more 
they  are  concentrated  and  cling  to  that  centre,  the  less  are 
they  able  to  manifest  their  activity,  to  grow  and  expand. 
Self-satisfied  man,  who  employs  his  capacities  only  for  his 
own  selfish  purpose,  contracts  them  into  himself,  and  as  he 
contracts  he  becomes  more  and  more  insignificant,  and  as 
he  loses  sight  of  the  whole,  the  whole  loses  sight  of  him. 

*  Bulwer-Lytton :  "  Zanoni." 


38  EXPERIENCE. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  a  person  who  is  not  in  possession  of 
sufficient  energy  attempts  to  send  his  forces  into  the  region 
of  the  unknown,  scattering  them  through  space,  without 
having  strengthened  them  by  the  development  of  the 
intellect,  they  will  wander  like  shadows  through  the  realm 
of  the  infinite  and  become  lost.  Harmonious  growth 
requires  expansion  along  with  a  corresponding  accumula- 
tion of  energy. 

Some  persons  are  possessed  of  great  intellectual  power, 
but  of  little  spirituality  j  some  have  spiritual  power,  but  a 
weak  intellect ;  those  in  which  the  spiritual  energies  are 
well  supported  by  a  strong  intellect  are  the  elect.  To 
become  practical,  we  must  first  learn  to  understand  the 
thing  we  want  to  practise,  by  observation  and  receiving 
instruction.  Understanding  is  a  result  of  assimilation  and 
growth,  not  a  result  of  cramming.  It  is  an  awakening  to  a 
state  of  consciousness  of  the  nature  of  the  thing  that  comes 
within  the  range  of  our  cognition.  A  person  coming  to  a 
strange  country  in  the  evening  will,  when  after  a  night's 
rest  he  wakes  in  the  morning,  hardly  realize  where  he  is. 
He  has,  perhaps,  been  dreaming  of  his  home  and  those 
that  are  left  there,  and  only  after  he  opens  his  eyes  and 
awakens  to  a  full  sense  of  consciousness  of  his  new  and 
strange  surroundings,  will  the  old  impressions  fade  away, 
and  he  will  begin  to  realize  where  he  is.  In  the  same 
manner  old  errors  must  disappear  before  new  truths  can 
be  realized.  Man  only  begins  to  exist  as  a  spiritual  being 
when  his  spirit  comes  to  life. 

To  become  perfect,  physical  health,  intellectual  growth, 
and  spiritual  perception  and  activity  should  go  hand  in 
hand.  Intuition  should  be  supported  by  an  unselfish 
intellect,  a  pure  mind  by  a  healthy  form.  How  to  accom- 
plish this  can  neither  be  taught  by  a  science  which  deals 
only  with  illusory  effects,  nor  by  a  religious  belief  based 
upon  illusions ;  but  it  is  taught  by  the  Wisdom  Religion, 
the  knowledge  of  self,  whose  foundation  is  truth,  and 
whose  practical  application  is  the  highest  object  of  human 
existence. 

This  Wisdom  Religion  has  been,  and  is  even  to-day,  the 
inheritance  of  the  saints,  prophets,  and  seers  and  of  every- 
one who  is  wise,  no  matter  to  what  external  system  of  reli- 
gion they  may  have  given  their  adherence.  It  was  known 
to  the  ancient  Brahmins,  Egyptians,  and  Jews,  Gautama 


WISDOM.  39 

Buddha  advised  his  people  to  strive  for  it.  It  formed  the 
basis  of  the  Eleusinian  and  Bachic  mysteries  of  the  Greeks, 
and  the  true  religion  of  Christ  is  resting  upon  it.  It  is  the 
true  religion  of  Humanity,  that  has  nothing  to  do  with  con- 
fessions and  forms.  Now,  as  in  times  of  old,  its  truths 
are  misunderstood  and  misrepresented  by  men  who  pro- 
fess to  be  teachers  of  men.  The  Pharisees  and  Saddticees 
of  the  New  Testament  were  the  prototypes  of  modern 
churchmen  and  scientists  existing  to-day.  Now,  as  then, 
the  truth  is  daily  crucified  between  superstition  and  selfish- 
ness and  laid  in  the  tomb  of  ignorance,  from  whence  it  will 
rise  again.  Now,  as  then,  the  spirit  has  fled  from  the  form, 
being  driven  away  by  those  that  worship  the  form  and 
hate  the  spirit.  Wisdom  will  for  ever  remain  a  secret 
science  to  the  idolaters  adoring  the  form,  even  if  it  were 
proclaimed  from  the  housetops  and  preached  at  a  market- 
place. The  dealer  in  pounds  and  pennies,  absorbed  by 
his  material  interests,  may  be  surrounded  by  the  greatest 
beauties  of  nature  and  not  comprehend  them,  the  intel- 
lectual reasoner  will  ask  for  a  sign  and  not  see  the  signs  by 
which  he  is  continually  surrounded.  The  tomb  from  which 
the  Saviour  will  arise  is  the  heart  of  men  and  women  ;  if 
the  good  in  them  awakens  to  self-consciousness,  then  will 
it  appear  to  them  as  a  sun,  shedding  its  light  upon  a  better 
and  happier  generation. 

The  existence  of  the  magic  power  of  good  will  proba- 
bly be  denied  by  few  ;  but  if  the  existence  of  good,  or 
White  Magic,  is  admitted,  that  of  evil,  or  Black  Magic,  is 
not  any  more  improbable. 

It  is  not  man  who  exercises  good  or  evil  magic  powers, 
but  it  is  the  God  in  him  who  works  good  or  evil  through 
the  organism  of  man.  God  is  good  or  evil  according  to 
the  conditions  under  which  he  acts ;  for  if  God  did  not 
include  evil  as  well  as  good,  he  would  not  be  universal. 
God  performs  good  or  evil  deeds  according  to  the  mode 
in  which  he  must  act ;  in  the  same  way  as  the  sun  is  good 
in  spring-time  when  he  melts  the  snow  and  assists  the 
grass  and  flowers  to  crawl  out  of  the  dark  earth,  and  evil, 
if  he  parches  the  skin  of  the  wanderer  in  tropical  Africa 
and  kills  persons  by  sun-stroke.  God  causes  the  healthy 
growth  of  a  limb  and  the  unhealthy  growth  of  a  cancer  by 
the  magic  power  of  his  unconscious  will,  which  acts  accord- 
ing to  law  and  not  according  to  whims.  Only  when  the 
Divinity  in  Man  has  awakened  to  consciousness  and  know- 


40  BLACK  MAGIC. 

ledge,  will  man  be  able  to  control  his  own  magic  (spiritual) 
power  and  employ  it  for  Good  or  for  Evil. 

A  person  having  created  (or  called  into  consciousness) 
in  himself  an  impersonal  power  may  employ  it  for  good  or 
for  evil,  but  if  he  employs  it  for  his  own  personal  gain,  he 
loses  that  power,  because  in  such  a  case  the  sense  of  his 
personality  becomes  more  permanent  and  his  personal 
Self  has  no  power.  Every  day  we  may  read  of  persons 
who  have  used  high  intellectual  powers  for  vile  purposes. 
We  see  persons  making  use  of  the  vanity,  greediness,  self- 
ishness, or  ambition  of  others  to  render  them  subservient 
to  their  own  purpose.  We  see  them  commit  murder  and 
instigate  wars  for  the  benefit  of  their  own  purposes  or  to 
attain  some  object  of  their  ambition.  But  such  events 
belong  more  or  less  to  the  struggle  for  existence.  They 
do  not  necessarily  belong  to  the  sphere  of  black  magic, 
because  they  are  usually  not  caused  by  a  love  for  evil,  but 
by  a  desire  of  a  personal  benefit  of  some  kind.  The  real 
black  magicians  are  those  that  are  doing  evil  for  the  sake 
of  doing  evil,  who  injure  others  without  expecting  or 
receiving  any  benefit  for  themselves.  To  that  class  belong 
the  backbiter  and  the  slanderer,  the  traducer  and  seducer, 
those  who  create  enmity  in  the  bosom  of  families,  who 
oppose  progress  and  encourage  ignorance,  and  they  have 
been  rightly  called  the  Powers  of  Darkness,  while  those 
who  do  good  for  the  sole  purpose  of  doing  good  are  the 
Children  of  Light. 

The  struggle  between  Light  and  Darkness  is  as  old  as 
the  world ;  there  can  be  no  light  become  manifest  without 
darkness,  and  no  evil  without  good.  Good  and  evil  are 
the  light  and  shadow  of  the  one  eternal  principle  of  life, 
and  each  is  necessary  if  the  other  is  to  become  manifest. 
Absolute  good  must  exist,  but  we  cannot  know  it  without 
knowing  the  presence  of  evil.  Absolute  evil  cannot  exist, 
because  it  is  held  together  by  a  spark  of  good.  A  soul  in 
which  there  were  no  good  whatever  would  rage  against 
itself,  the  forces  constituting  such  a  soul  would  combat 
each  other  and  rend  it  to  pieces.  Man's  Redeemer  is  his 
power  for  good.  This  power  attracts  him  to  that  which 
is  good,  and  at  the  end,  when  the  supreme  source  of  all 
power,  from  which  life  emanated  in  the  beginning,  with- 
draws that  activity  into  itself,  the  powers  of  darkness  will 
suffer,  but  the  Children  of  Light  will  be  united  with  the 
source  of  all  Good. 


o 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    IDEAL. 


"  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  they  that  worship  him  must  worship  him  in 
spirit  and  in  truth." — John  iv.  24. 

THE  highest  desire  any  reasonable  man  can  cherish,  and 
the  highest  right  he  may  possibly  claim,  is  to  become  per- 
fect. To  know  everything,  to  love  all  and  be  known  and 
beloved  by  all,  to  possess  and  command  everything  that 
exists,  such  is  a  condition  of  being  that,  to  a  certain 
extent,  may  be  felt  intuitively,  but  whose  possibility  can- 
not be  grasped  by  the  intellect  of  mortal  man.  A  foretaste 
of  such  a  blissful  condition  may  be  experienced  by  a  per- 
son who — even  for  a  short  period  of  time — is  perfectly 
happy.  He  who  is  not  oppressed  by  sorrow,  not  excited 
by  selfish  desires,  and  who  is  conscious  of  his  own  strength 
and  liberty,  feels  as  if  he  were  the  master  of  worlds  and 
the  king  of  creation;  and,  in  fact,  during  such  moments 
he  is  their  ruler,  as  far  as  he  himself  is  concerned,  although 
his  subjects  may  not  seem  to  be  aware  of  his  existence. 

But  when  he  awakes  from  his  dream  and  looks  through 
the  windows  of  his  senses  into  the  exterior  world,  and 
begins  to  reason  about  his  surroundings,  his  vision  fades 
away  ;  he  beholds  himself  a  child  of  the  Earth,  a  mortal 
form,  bound  with  many  chains  to  a  speck  of  dust  in  the 
Universe,  on  a  ball  of  matter  called  a  planet  that  floats  in 
the  infinity  of  space.  The  ideal  world,  that  perhaps 
a  moment  before  appeared  to  him  as  a  glorious  reality, 
may  now  seem  to  him  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  dream,  in 
which  there  is  nothing  real,  and  physical  existence,  with 
all  its  imperfections,  is  now  to  him  the  only  unquestion- 
able reality,  and  its  most  perfect  illusions  the  only  things 
worthy  of  his  attention.  He  sees  himself  surrounded  by 


42  THE  TRUE  IDEAL. 

material  forms,  and  he  seeks  to  discover  among  these  forms 
that  which  corresponds  to  his  highest  ideal. 

The  highest  desire  of  any  mortal  is  to  attain  that  which 
exists  in  himself  as  his  highest  ideal.  A  person  without 
an  ideal  is  unthinkable.  To  be  conscious  is  to  realize  the 
existence  of  some  ideal,  to  relinquish  the  ideal  world  would 
be  death.  A  person  without  ,any  desire  would  be  useless 
in  the  economy  of  nature,  a  person  having  all  his  desires 
satisfied  needs  to  live  no  longer,  for  life  can  be  of  no  further 
use  to  him.  Each  one  is  bound  to  his  own  ideal;  he 
whose  ideal  is  mortal  must  die  when  his  ideal  dies,  he 
whose  ideal  is  immortal  must  become  immortal  himself  to 
attain  it. 

Each  man's  true  ideal  should  be  his  own  higher  spiritual 
self.  His  Christ,  or  God.  Man's  semi-animal  self  is  not 
the  whole  of  man.  Man  may  be  regarded  as  an  invisible 
power  or  ray  extending  in  a  line  from  the  (spiritual)  Sun  to 
the  Earth.  Only  the  lower  end  of  that  line  is  visible, 
because  it  has  evolved  an  organized  material  body ;  by 
means  of  which  the  invisible  ray  draws  strength  from  the 
earth  below.  If  all  the  life  and  thought-force  evolved  by 
the  contact  of  the  lower  end  of  that  line  with  matter  are 
spent  within  the  material  plane,  the  higher  spiritual  self 
will  gain  nothing  by  it,  and  when  death  breaks  the  com- 
munication between  the  higher  and  lower  self,  the  lower 
self  will  perish,  and  the  higher  one  will  remain  what  it  was, 
before  it  evolved  a  mortal  inhabitant  of  the  material  world. 

Man  lives  in  two  worlds,  in  his  interior  and  in  the 
exterior  world.  Each  of  these  worlds  exists  under  con- 
ditions peculiar  to  itself,  and  that  world  in  which  he  lives 
is  for  the  time  being  the  most  real  to  him.  When  he  fully 
enters  his  interior  world  during  deep  sleep  or  in  moments 
of  perfect  abstraction,  the  forms  perceived  in  the  exterior 
world  fade  away ;  but  when  he  awakes  into  the  exterior 
world  the  forms  seen  in  his  interior  state  are  forgotten,  or 
leave  only  their  uncertain  shadows  on  the  sky.  To  live 
simultaneously  in  both  worlds  is  only  possible  to  him 
who  succeeds  in  harmoniously  blending  his  internal  and 
external  worlds  into  one. 

The  so-called  Real  seldom  corresponds  with  the  Ideal, 
and  often  it  happens  that  man,  after  many  unsuccessful 
attempts  to  realize  his  ideals  in  the  exterior  world,  returns 
to  his  interior  world  with  disappointment,  and  resolves  to 


HAPPINESS.  43 

give  up  his  search  ;  but  if  he  succeeds  in  the  realization  of 
his  ideal,  then  arises  for  him  a  moment  of  happiness, 
during  which  time,  as  we  know  it,  exists  for  him  no  more, 
the  exterior  world  is  then  blended  with  his  interior  world, 
his  consciousness  is  absorbed  in  the  enjoyment  of  both, 
and  yet  he  remains  a  man. 

Artists  and  poets  may  be  familiar  with  such  states.  An 
inventor  who  sees  his  invention  accepted,  a  soldier  coming 
victorious  out  of  the  struggle  for  victory,  a  lover  united 
with  the  object  of  his  desire,  forgets  his  own  personality 
and  is  lost  in  the  contemplation  of  his  ideal.  The  extatic 
worshipper,  seeing  the  Redeemer  before  him,  floats  in  an 
ocean  of  rapture,  and  his  consciousness  is  centred  in  the 
ideal  that  he  himself  has  created  out  of  his  own  mind,  but 
which  is  as  real  to  him  as  if  it  were  a  living  form  of  flesh. 
Shakespeare's  Juliet  finds  her  mortal  ideal  realized  in 
Romeo's  youthful  form.  United  with  him,  she  forgets  the 
rush  of  time,  night  disappears,  and  she  is  not  conscious  of 
it ;  the  lark  heralds  the  dawn,  and  she  mistakes  its  song  for 
the  singing  of  the  nightingale.  Happiness  measures  no 
time  and  knows  no  danger.  But  Juliet's  ideal  is  mortal 
and  dies,  and  having  lost  her  ideal  Juliet  must  die,  and  the 
immortal  ideals  of  both  become  again  united  as  they  enter 
the  immortal  realm  through  the  door  of  physical  death. 

But  as  the  sun  rose  too  early  for  Juliet,  so  in  all  engage- 
ments of  evanescent  ideals  that  have  been  realized  in  the 
external  world,  happiness  vanishes  soon.  An  ideal  that 
has  been  realized  ceases  to  be  an  ideal ;  the  ethereal  forms 
of  the  interior  world,  if  grasped  by  the  rude  hand  of  mor- 
tals and  embodied  in  matter,  must  die.  To  grasp  an 
immortal  ideal,  man's  mortal  nature  must  die  before  he  can 
grasp  it. 

Low  ideals  may  be  killed,  but  their  death  calls  similar 
ones  into  existence.  From  the  blood  of  a  vampire  that  has 
been  slain  a  swarm  of  vampires  arises.  A  selfish  desire 
fulfilled  makes  room  for  similar  desires,  a  gratified  passion 
is  chased  away  by  other  similar  passions,  a  sensual  craving 
that  has  been  stilled  gives  rise  to  new  cravings.  Earthly 
happiness  is  short-lived  and  often  dies  in  disgust ;  the  love 
of  the  immortal  alone  is  immortal.  Material  acquisitions 
perish,  because  forms  are  evanescent  and  die.  Intellectual 
accomplishments  vanish,  for  the  intellectual  forces  are 
subject  to  change.  Desires  and  opinions  change  and 


44  ILLUSIONS. 

memories  fade  away.  He  who  clings  to  old  memories, 
clings  to  that  which  is  dead.  A  child  becomes  a  man,  a 
man  an  old  man,  an  old  man  a  child  ;  the  playthings  of 
childhood  give  way  to  intellectual  playthings,  but  when  the 
latter  have  served  their  purpose,  they  appear  as  useless  as 
did  the  former,  only  spiritual  realities  are  everlasting  and 
true.  In  the  ever-revolving  kaleidoscope  of  nature  the 
aspect  of  illusions  continually  changes  its  form.  What  is 
laughed  at  as  a  superstition  by  one  century  is  often 
accepted  as  the  basis  of  science  for  the  next,  and  what 
appears  as  wisdom  to-day  may  be  looked  upon  as  an 
absurdity  in  the  great  to-morrow.  Nothing  is  permanent 
but  the  real  ideal,  the  truth. 

But  where  can  man  find  the  truth?  If  he  seeks  deep 
enough  in  himself  he  will  find  it  revealed,  each  man  may 
know  his  own  heart.  He  may  send  a  ray  of  his  intelli- 
gence into  the  depths  of  his  soul  and  search  its  bottom, 
he  may  find  it  to  be  as  infinitely  Tieep  as  the  sky  above  his 
head.  He  may  find  corals  and  pearls,  or  watch  the  mon- 
sters of  the  deep.  If  his  thought  is  steady  and  unwavering, 
he  may  enter  the  innermost  sanctuary  of  his  own  temple 
and  see  the  goddess  unveiled.  Not  everyone  can  penetrate 
into  such  depths,  because  the  thought  is  easily  led  astray ; 
but  the  strong  and  persistent  searcher  will  penetrate  veil 
after  veil,  until  at  the  innermost  centre  he  discovers  the 
germ  of  truth,  which,  awakened  to  consciousness,  will  grow 
into  a  sun  that  illuminates  the  whole  of  the  interior  world, 
wherein  everything  is  contained. 

Such  an  interior  meditation  and  concentration  of  thought 
upon  the  germ  of  divinity,  which  rests  in  the  innermost 
centre  of  the  soul,  is  the  only  true  prayer.  The  adulation 
of  an  external  form,  whether  living  or  dead,  whether  ex- 
isting objectively  or  merely  subjectively  in  the  imagina- 
tion, is  useless,  and  serves  only  to  deceive  ourselves.  It 
is  very  easy  to  attend  to  external  forms  of  external  "so- 
called  worship,"  but  the  true  worship  of  the  living  God 
within  requires  a  great  effort  of  will  and  a  power  of  will, 
which  few  people  are  able  to  exercise,  but  which  can  be 
acquired  by  practice.  It  consists  in  continually  guarding 
of  the  door  of  the  sacred  lodge,  so  that  no  illegitimate 
thoughts  may  enter  the  mind  to  disturb  the  holy  assembly 
whose  deliberations  are  presided  over  by  the  spirit  of 
wisdom. 


MED  IT  A  TION.  45 

How  shall  we  know  tne  truth  ?  Truth,  having  awakened 
to  consciousness,  knows  that  it  is ;  it  is  the  god-principle 
in  man,  which  is  infallible  and  cannot  be  misled  by 
illusions.  If  the  surface  of  the  soul  is  not  lashed  by  the 
storms  of  passions,  if  no  selfish  desires  exist  to  disturb  its 
tranquillity,  if  its  waters  are  not  darkened  by  reflections  of 
the  past,  we  will  see  the  image  of  eternal  truth  mirrored  in 
the  deep.  To  know  the  truth  in  its  fulness  is  to  become 
alive  and  immortal,  to  lose  the  power  of  recognizing  the 
truth  is  to  perish  in  death.  The  voice  of  truth  in  a  person 
that  has  not  yet  awakened  to  spiritual  life,  is  the  "  still 
small  voice  "  that  may  be  felt  in  the  heart,  listened  to  by 
the  imperfect,  as  a  half-conscious  dreamer  may  listen  to 
the  ringing  of  bells  in  the  distance ;  but  in  those  that  have 
become  conscious  of  life,  that  have  passed  through  the 
first  resurrection  of  the  spirit  in  their  own  heart,  and  re- 
ceived the  baptism  of  the  first  initiation  administered  by 
themselves,  the  voice  of  the  new-born  ego  has  no  uncertain 
sound,  but  becomes  the  powerful  Word  of  the  Master. 
The  awakened  principle  of  truth  is  self-conscious  and  self- 
sufficient,  it  is  the  great  spiritual  sun  that  knows  that  it 
exists.  It  stands  higher  than  the  intellect  and  higher  than 
science,  it  does  not  need  to  be  corroborated  by  "  recog- 
nized authorities,"  it  cares  not  for  the  opinion  of  others, 
and  its  decisions  suffer  no  appeal.  It  knows  neither  doubt 
nor  fear,  but  reposes  in  the  tranquillity  of  its  own  supreme 
majesty.  It  can  neither  be  altered  nor  changed,  it  always 
was  and  ever  remains  the  same,  whether  mortal  man  may 
perceive  it  or  not.  It  may  be  compared  to  the  light  of  the 
earthly  sun,  that  cannot  be  excluded  from  the  world,  but 
from  which  man  may  exclude  himself.  We  may  blind  our- 
selves to  the  perception  of  the  truth,  but  the  truth  itself  is 
not  thereby  changed.  It  illuminates  the  minds  of  those 
who  have  awakened  to  immortal  life.  A  small  room  re- 
quires a  little  flame,  a  large  room  a  great  light  for  its 
illumination,  but  in  either  room  the  light  shines  equally 
clear  in  each ;  in  the  same  manner  the  light  of  truth  shines 
into  the  hearts  of  the  illuminated  with  equal  clearness,  but 
with  a  power  differing  according  to  their  individual 
capacity. 

It  will  always  be  perfectly  useless  to  attempt  to  describe 
self-knowledge  to  another  man.  Only  that  which  exists 
relatively  to  ourselves  has  a  real  existence  for  us>  that  of 


46  THE  TRUE  LIGHT. 

which  we  know  nothing  does  not  exist  for  us.  No  proof 
of  the  existence  of  light  can  be  furnished  to  the  blind,  no 
proof  of  transcendental  knowledge  can  be  given  to  those 
whose  capacity  to  know  does  not  transcend  the  realm  of 
external  phenomena. 

There  is  nothing  higher  than  truth,  and  the  acquisition 
of  truth  is  therefore  man's  highest  ideal.  The  highest 
ideal  in  the  Universe  must  be  a  universal  ideal.  The 
constitution  of  all  men  is  built  according  to  one  universal 
law,  and  the  highest  ideal  must  be  the  same  ideal  to  all  and 
attainable  to  all,  and  in  its  attainment  all  individuals 
become  reunited  into  one.  As  long  as  a  man  does  not  re- 
cognize the  highest  ideal  in  the  Universe,  the  highest  one 
which  he  is  able  to  recognize  will  be  the  highest  to  him  ; 
but  as  long  as  there  still  exists  a  higher  one  than  the  one 
he  perceives,  the  higher  will  unconsciously  attract  him, 
unless  he  persistingly  repulses  its  attraction.  Only  the 
attainment  of  the  highest  ideal  in  the  Universe  can  give 
permanent  happiness,  for  having  attained  the  highest  there 
is  nothing  left  that  could  be  possibly  desired.  As  long  as 
there  is  still  a  higher  ideal  for  man,  he  will  have  aspira- 
tions to  reach  it,  but  having  reached  the  highest  its 
attraction  ceases,  he  becomes  one  with  it  and  can  desire 
nothing  more.  There  must  be  a  state  of  perfection  which 
all  may  reach,  and  beyond  which  none  can  advance,  until 
the  Universe  as  a  whole  advances  beyond  it.  All 'men 
have  the  same  right  to  reach  the  highest,  but  not  all  have 
the  same  power  developed,  some  may  reath  it  soon,  others 
may  lag  on  the  road,  and  perhaps  the  majority  may  fall 
and  have  to  begin  again  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder.  Each 
ripe  acorn  that  falls  from  an  oak  has  the  inherent  capacity 
to  develop  into  an  oak  ;  but  not  each  finds  the  same  con- 
ditions for  development.  Some  may  grow,  a  few  may 
develop  into  trees,  but  the  majority  will  enter  into  decom- 
position to  furnish  new  material  out  of  which  new  forms- 
may  be  developed. 

The  highest  truth  in  its  fulness  is  not  known  to  a  man 
in  the  mortal  form.  Those  that  have  attained  to  a  state  of 
perfect  consciousness  of  absolute  truth  require  no  form  to 
hold  it,  they  belong  to  a  formless  tribe  ;  they  could  not  be 
one  with  an  universal  principle  if  they  were  tied  by  the 
chains  of  personality  ;  a  mind  expanded,  so  that  the  prison- 
house  of  flesh  can  hold  it  no  more,  will  require  that  prison- 


ILLUMINATION".  47 

house  no  longer.  Form  is  only  required  to  shelter  the 
spirit  in  the  infancy  of  his  development,  as  long  as  he  has 
not  attained  full  power.  Having  attained  the  knowledge 
of  evil  and  the  power  to  control  it,  and  having  by  the  rea- 
lization of  the  truth  "  eaten  from  the  tree  of  life  and 
attained  immortality,"  *  he  can  protect  himself  by  his  own 
power,  and  requires  his  clothes  of  flesh  no  longer. 

Imperfectly  developed  man,  unless  he  has  become  very 
much  degraded,  feels  intuitively  that  which  is  true.  The 
scientist  who  reasons  from  the  plane  of  sensual  perceptions 
is  farthest  from  a  recognition  of  the  truth,  because  he  mis- 
takes the  illusions  produced  by  his  senses  for  the  reality, 
'and  repulses  the  revelations  of  his  own  intuition.  The 
philosopher,  unable  to  see  the  truth,  attempts  to  grasp  it 
with  his  intellect,  and  may  approach  it  to  a  certain  extent ; 
but  he,  in  whom  the  truth  has  attained  the  state  of  self- 
consciousness,  knows  the  truth  by  direct  perception,  he  is 
one  with  it,  and  cannot  err.  Such  a  state  is  incompre- 
hensible to  the  majority  of  men,  to  scientists  and  philoso- 
phers as  well  as  to  the  ignorant,  and  yet  men  have  existed, 
and  exist  to-day,  who  have  attained  that  state.  They  are 
the  true  Theosophists>  but  not  every  one  is  a  Theosophist 
who  goes  by  that  name,  nor  is  everyone  a  Christ  who  is 
called  a  Christian.  But  a  true  Theosophist  and  a  true 
Christian  or  Mahatma  are  one  and  the  same,  because  both 
are  human  forms  in  which  the  universal  spiritual  soul  has 
attained  a  state  of  self-consciousness. 

The  terms  "  Christian  "  or  "  Theosophist,"  like  so  many 
other  terms  of  a  similar  kind,  have  almost  entirely  lost 
their  true  meaning.  A  "  Christian  "  now-a-days  means  a 
person  whose  name  is  inscribed  in  the  register  of  some  so- 
called  Christian  Church,  and  performs  the  ceremonies 
prescribed  by  that  social  organization. 

But  a  real  Christian  is  something  entirely  different  from 
a  merely  external  one.  The  first  Christians  were  a  secret 
organization,  a  school  of  Occultists,  who  adopted  certain 
symbols  and  signs,  in  which  to  represent  the  truths  they 
knew,  and  thus  to  communicate  them  to  each  other,  while 
hiding  them  from  the  eyes  of  the  ignorant. 

A  real  Theosophist  is  not  a  dreamer,  but  a  most  practical 
person.  By  purity  of  life  he  receives  the  power  to  per- 
ceive higher  truths  than  average  man  is  able  to  see. 

*  Bible  :  Genesis  iii.  22. 


48  PROPHETS. 

As  the  truth  is  only  one,  men  in  all  countries,  in  whom 
the  truth  has  become  self-conscious,  have  the  same  percep- 
tion. This  explains  why  the  revelations  of  all  prophets 
are  identical  with  each  other,  provided  they  have  attained 
the  same  power.  The  truths  revealed  by  a  Jackob 
Boehme,  or  Paracelsus  in  Germany,  are  essentially  the 
same  as  those  revealed  by  the  Thibetan  Mahatmas,  they 
only  differ  in  extent  and  in  mode  of  expression.  An 
ecstatic  Christian  saint  in  England  or  France  would  tell 
the  same  tale  as  an  ecstatic  Brahmin  in  India  or  an 
ecstatic  red  Indian  in  America ;  because  all  three,  being 
in  the  same  state,  would  exactly  see  the  same  thing. 
The  truth  is  there,  visible  to  all  who  are  able  to  per- 
ceive it,  but  each  will  describe  what  he  sees  according 
to  his  mode  of  thinking  and  in  his  own  fashion.  If — 
as  the  ignorant  believe — all  the  visions  of  saints  and 
Jamas,  sanyassi,  and  dervishes,  were  only  the  result  of 
hallucinations  and  fancies,  not  two  of  them,  having  never 
heard  of  each  other,  would  have  the  same  vision.  A  tree 
will  be  a  tree  to  all  who  are  able  to  see  it,  and  if  their 
sight  is  clear  no  preconceived  opinions  will  change  it  into 
something  else ;  a  truth  will  be  seen  as  a  truth  by  all  who 
are  able  to  see  it,  and  no  preconceived  opinions  will  alter 
it  or  change  it  into  a  lie.  To  know  the  whole  truth  is  to 
know  everything  that  exists  ;  to  love  the  truth  above  all  is 
to  become  united  with  the  consciousness  of  all ;  to  be  able 
to  express  the  truth  in  its  fulness  is  to  possess  universal 
power ;  but  to  be  one  with  immortal  truth  is  to  be  for 
ever  immortal. 

The  perception  of  the  truth  rests  in  the  equilibrium 
of  the  intellect  and  the  emotions.  As  long  as  the  mind 
has  not  awakened  to  a  state  of  direct  recognition  of  the 
truth,  it  will  only  see  the  shadow  of  its  presence  and  hear 
the  indistinct  whispering  of  its  voice.  The  sound  of  that 
voice  may  be  drowned  in  the  turmoil  of  the  intellectual 
workshop,  its  light  may  be  obscured  by  the  storms  of  the 
emotions.  To  understand  that  voice  and  to  behold  that 
light  distinctly  and  without  any  foreign  admixture,  heart 
and  head  should  act  harmoniously  together.  To  perceive 
the  truth,  purity  of  heart  and  strength  of  mind  should 
go  hand  in  hand,  and  it  is  therefore  taught  that  men  must 
become  like  children  before  they  can  enter  the  sphere  of 
truth.  Head  and  heart,  if  supported  by  reason,  are  as  One* 


SINGLENESS  AND  COMPLEXEDNESS.  49 

but  if  they  act  against  each  other  they  form  the  absurd  Two 
that  produces  illusions.  The  emotional  maniac  is  only 
guided  by  his  heart,  the  intellectual  fool  only  listens  to  the 
dictates  of  his  head,  he  lives — so  to  say — in  his  head  and 
neglects  the  heart.  But  neither  the  revelry  of  the  emotions 
nor  intellectual  fanaticism  discloses  the  truth  j  only  in  the 
"  stillness  that  follows  the  storm,"  *  when  the  harmony  of 
both  is  restored,  will  the  truth  be  discovered.  A  man  who 
only  follows  the  dictates  of  his  emotions,  resembles  one 
who  in  ascending  a  mountain  peak  becomes  dizzy,  and 
losing  nis  power  to  control  himself,  falls  over  a  precipice ; 
a  man  who  is  only  guided  by  his  sensual  perceptions  influ- 
encing his  intellect  is  easily  lost  in  the  whirlpool  of  multi- 
farious illusions.  He  is  like  a  person  on  an  island  in  the 
ocean  examining  a  drop  of  water  taken  from  the  ocean, 
and  being  blind  to  the  existence  of  the  ocean  from  which 
that  drop  has  been  taken.  But  if  heart  and  head  are 
attuned  to  the  divine  harmonies  of  the  invisible  realm  of 
nature,  then  will  the  truth  reveal  itself  to  man,  and  in  him 
will  the  highest  ideal  see  its  own  image  reflected. 

We  sometimes  hear  some  people  boast  that  they  are 
controlled  by  their  intellect ;  but  no  one  boasts  that  he  is 
controlled  by  his  emotions.  The  former  are  as  much  in 
error  as  the  latter ;  for  a  free  man  is  not  controlled  by 
either  of  the  two  ;  he  is  his  own  master.  By  the  power  of 
his  will  and  reason  he  controls  the  intellectual  workings  of 
his  brain  no  less  than  the  emotions  of  his  heart,  and  only 
such  a  person  is  wise.  Heart  and  brain  are  not  ourselves. 
They  are  instruments  which  have  been  lent  to  us  by  nature. 
They  should  not  govern  us  ;  but  we  should  govern  them, 
and  use  them  according  to  the  dictates  of  the  universal 
law,  whose  words  we  can  only  hear,  when  we  are  free  from 
the  bonds  of  the  animal  self. 

Material  man,  entombed  in  his  chrysalis  of  clay,  can 
only  feel,  but  not  see,  the  rays  that  radiate  from  the  sphere 
of  infinite  truth ;  but  if  he  bids  his  emotions  be  still !  and 
commands  his  intellect  be  not  deluded  !  he  may  stretch  his 
feelers  into  the  realm  of  the  spirit  and  perceive  the  light  of 
truth.  His  heart  should  be  used  as  a  touchstone  to  examine 
the  conclusions  arrived  at  by  the  brain,  and  the  brain 
should  be  employed  like  scales  to  weigh  the  decisions  of  the 

*  «  Light  on  the  Path,"  by  M.  C. 


So  SPIRITUAL  PERCEPTION-. 

heart;  but  when  his  self-knowledge  has  been  awakened, 
there  will  be  no  more  difference  of  opinion  between  the 
head  and  the  heart,  the  perceptions  of  the  one  will  be  in 
harmony  with  the  aspirations  of  the  latter,  the  one  will  see 
and  the  other  will  feel  the  truth.  Then  will  the  lower 
ideals  vanish  before  the  light  of  truth,  for  truth  is  a  jealous 
goddess  and  suffers  no  other  gods  beside  her. 

Man  is  usually  guided  only  by  his  intellect,  woman  is 
often  guided  only  by  her  emotions.  To  reason  from 
external  appearances  has  become  a  necessity  to  men  in 
consequence  of  their  material  organization,  which  like 
a  shell  surrounds  the  soul  of  men  or  women,  in  which 
alone  rests  the  power  of  sensation  and  perception ;  but 
if  the  innermost  man,  the  true  spirit,  sleeping  in  every 
mortal,  awakens  to  life,  he  emits  a  light  that  penetrates 
through  the  veil  of  matter  and  illuminates  the  soul.  If 
the  germ  of  divinity,  hidden  in  the  centre  of  the  soul,  is 
permitted  to  awaken,  it  emits  a  spiritual  light,  which 
reaches  from  man  to  the  stars  and  to  the  utmost  limits  of 
space,  and  by  the  help  of  that  divine  light  he  may  perceive 
and  penetrate  into  the  deepest  mysteries  of  the  Universe. 
Those  who  are  able  to  know  the  truth  by  direct  perception 
do  not  need  to  be  informed  of  it  by  the  reading  of  books, 
the  whole  of  the  visible  and  invisible  realm  lies  open  before 
them,  like  a  book  in  whose  pages  they  may  read  the  whole 
history  of  the  world.  They  know  all  the  forms  of  life, 
because  they  are  one  with  the  source  of  life  from  which  all 
forms  were  born,  they  need  not  study  letters,  because  the 
Word  itself  is  living  in  them.  They  may  be  the  instru- 
ments through  whom  eternal  wisdom  reveals  itself  to  those 
who  are  entombed  in  matter ;  but  in  that  case  it  is  not  the 
teacher  revealing  the  truth,  but  the  truth  itself  revealing 
itself  through  him.  These  are  the  only  Illuminates  and 
TJieosophists  that  have  any  real  existence ;  not  those  who 
merely  imagine  to  be  what  they  not  really  are. 

How  pitiful  must  appear  to  the  enlightened  the  war  of 
opinions  raging  among  those  whom  humanity  believes  to 
be  the  lights  of  knowledge  and  wisdom ;  how  insignifi- 
cantly small  appear  those  lights  before  the  sun  of  truth. 
What  appears  as  a  light  to  the  ignorant,  appears  to  the 
illuminated  seer  as  a  source  of  darkness  and  smoke,  and  the 
wisdom  of  the  world  becomes  foolishness  *  before  the  eyes 

*  I  Cor.  iii.  19. 


SUPERSTITIONS.  51 

of  the  truth.  The  oyster  in  its  shell  may  believe  to  be  at 
the  pinnacle  of  perfection,  and  that  there  is  no  higher 
existence  than  that  which  it  enjoys  in  the  ocean-bed  ;  the 
scientist,  proud  of  the  discoveries  of  his  department  of 
science,  is  frequently  found  to  be  swelled  with  vanity, 
knowing  little  how  little  he  knows.  Many  of  the  repre- 
sentatives of  modern  science  forget  that  the  greatest  inven- 
tions have  been  made — not  by  the  professed  guardians  of 
science,  but  by  men  upon  whom  they  looked  with  con- 
tempt, and  that  many  useful  inventions  were  introduced, 
not  with  the  assistance,  but  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of 
the  learned.  It  may  be  disagreeable  to  call  up  unpleasant 
memories,  but  we  cannot  close  our  eyes  to  the  fact  that 
the  inventors  of  railroads,  steamships,  and  telegraphs  have 
been  ridiculed  by  professors  of  science,  that  men  of  science 
have  laughed  at  the  belief  in  the  rotundity  of  the  earth, 
that  some  of  the  legitimate  keepers  of  the  truth  have  often 
betrayed  their  trust,  and  that  especially  the  followers  of 
the  medical  profession,  as  a  class,  have  often  been 
prominent  on  account  of  their  misunderstanding  of  the 
laws  of  nature,  and  of  their  opposition  to  truth,  whenever 
it  conflicted  with  their  preconceived  opinions. 

Many  useful  discoveries  have  been  made  through  the 
power  of  intuition ;  assisted  by  a  strong  intellect,  some 
seem  to  have  been  made  by  the  aid  of  that  intuition  which 
comes  from  the  devil,  and  their  results  are  still  a  curse  to 
mankind.  For  centuries  the  learned  professions  have 
been  thriving  on  human  suffering,  and  many  of  their 
followers,  mistaking  the  low  for  the  high,  have  dethroned 
the  god  of  humanity  and  worshipped  the  fetish  of  Self  in 
its  place.  The  fear  of  an  illusory  devil  external  to  man 
has  served  to  swell  the  money-bags  of  Brahmins  and 
priests,  while  the  real  internal  devils,  residing  in  the 
animal  nature  of  man,  were  allowed  to  grow.  For  cen- 
turies many  of  the  appointed  servants  of  the  Supreme  have 
only  served  the  golden  calf,  residing  in  their  animal  nature, 
feeding  their  followers  with  false  hopes  of  immortality,  and 
speculating  on  the  selfish  propensities  of  men  to  obtain 
material  profits  for  their  own  selves.  Those  to  whom 
humanity  looks  for  protection  against  bodily  ills,  and  who 
therefore — more  than  anybody  else — should  understand 
the  real  constitution  of  man,  usually  experiment  with  the 


52  DELUSIONS. 

physical  form  to  seek  the  cause  of  disease,  being  ignorant 
of  the  fact  that  the  form  is  the  expression  of  life,  the  product 
of  the  soul,  and  that  external  effects  cannot  be  effectually 
changed  without  changing  the  internal  causes.  Many  of 
them  refusing  to  believe  in  Soul,  seek  the  cause  of  diseases, 
in  its  external  expression,  where  it  does  not  exist.  Diseases 
are  the  necessary  results  of  disobedience  to  the  laws  of 
nature,  they  are  the  consequences  of  "  sins  "  that  cannot 
be  forgiven,  but  must  be  atoned  for  by  acting  again  in 
accordance  with  natural  laws.  In  vain  will  the  ignorant 
ask  the  guardians  of  health  for  their  assistance  to  cheat  the 
law  of  nature  out  of  its  dues.  Physicians  may  restore 
health  by  restoring  the  supremacy  of  the  law,  but  as  long 
as  they  know  only  an  infinitesimal  part  of  the  law  they  can 
only  cure  an  infinitesimal  part  of  the  diseases  afflicting 
mankind  ;  they  can  often  only  suppress  the  manifestation 
of  one  disease  by  calling  another  and  more  serious  one  into 
existence.*  In  vain  will  such  investigators  seek  for  the 
cause  for  epidemic  diseases  in  places  where  such  causes 
may  be  propagated,  but  where  they  are  not  created.  The 
soul  of  the  Earth  in  which  such  causes  reside  cannot  be 
seen  with  microscopes,  it  can  only  be  recognized  by  a  man 
whose  spiritual  perceptions  have  been  awakened  by  the 
awakening  into  consciousness  of  his  interior  self. 

A  true  conception  of  the  nature  of  man  will  lead  to  the 
comprehension  of  the  fact  that  man,  being  as  a  microcosm 
the  true  image,  reflection  and  representative  of  the  ma- 
crocosm of  nature ;  Nature  has  the  same  organization  as 
Man,  although  not  the  same  external  form.  Having  the 
same  organs  and  functions,  and  being  ruled  by  the  same 
laws,  the  organism  of  Nature  is  liable  to  experience 
diseases,  similar  to  those  experienced  by  the  organism  of 
man.  Nature  has  her  dropsical  swellings,  her  nervous 
tremblings,  her  paralytic  affections  by  which  civilized 
countries  turn  into  deserts,  her  inflammatory  affections,  her 
rheumatic  contractions,  spells  of  heat  and  cold,  eruptions 
and  earthquakes.  If  our  physicians  knew  the  nature  of 
man,  they  would  also  know  the  organization  of  Nature  as 
a  whole,  and  understand  more  about  the  origin  of  epidemic 
diseases,  of  which  they  now  know  merely  the  external 
effects. 

*  See  C,  L.  Hunt ; 


MEDICAL  SCIENCE.  53 

What  does  modern  medical  science  know  of  the  con- 
stitution: of  man,  whose  life  and  safety  is  made  to  depend 
on  that  knowledge  ?  It  knows  the  form  of  the  body,  the 
arrangement  of  muscles,  and  bones,  and  organs,  and  it  calls 
these  constituent  parts  by  names  which  it  invented  for  the 
purpose  of  distinction.  Having  no  supersensual  percep- 
tions it  does  not  know  the  soul  of  man,  but  believes  that 
his  body  is  the  essential  man.  If  its  eyes  were  open  it 
would  see  that  this  visible  body  is  only  the  material  kernel 
of  the  "  immaterial,"  but  nevertheless  substantial  real  man, 
whose  soul-essence  radiates  far  into  space,  and  whose 
spirit  is  without  limits.  They  would  know  that  in  the  life- 
principle,  in  whose  existence  they  do  not  believe,  resides 
sensation,  perception,  consciousness,  and  all  the  causes 
that  produce  the  growth  of  the  form.  Laboring  under 
their  fatal  mistake  they  attempt  to  cure  that  which  is  not 
sick,  while  the  real  patient  is  unknown  to  them.  Under 
such  circumstances  it  is  not  surprising  that  the  most 
enlightened  physicians  of  our  time  have  expressed  the 
opinion  that  our  present  system  of  medicine  is  rather  a 
curse  than  a  blessing  to  mankind,  and  that  our  drugs  and 
medicines  do  vastly  more  harm  than  good,  because  they 
are  continually,  misapplied.  This  is  an  assertion  which  has 
often  been  made  by  their  own  most  prominent  leaders. 

The  ideal  physician  of  the  future  is  he  who  knows  the 
true  constitution  of  man,  and  who  is  not  led  by  illusive 
external  appearances,  but  has  developed  his  interior 
powers  of  perception  to  enable  him  to  examine  into  the 
hidden  causes  of  all  external  effects.  To  him  the  acquisi- 
tions of  material  science  are  not  the  guides  but  only  the 
assistants,  his  guide  will  be  his  knowledge  and  not  his 
"  belief,"  and  his  knowledge  will  endow  him  with  faith, 
which  is  a  power  acting  upon  that  part  of  man  that  cannot 
be  reached  by  the  administration  of  drugs. 

If  our  medical  students  were  to  apply  a  part  of  the  time 
which  they  employ  for  the  study  of  certain  external  sciences 
which  are  practically  useless  to  them  for  the  development 
of  their  interior  perception,  they  would  become  able  to  see 
certain  processes  within  the  organism  of  man,  which  are 
at  present  to  them  a  mere  matter  of  speculation,  and  which 
are  not  discoverable  by  any  physical  means. 

But  even  the  modern  physician  acts  wiser  than  he  knows. 
He  may  say  that  he  does  not  believe  in  faith,  and  yet  it 


54  FAITH. 

is  only  faith  that  upholds  him  and  by  which  he  exists, 
because  if  men  had  no  faith  in  him  they  would  not  employ 
him,  and  if  his  patients  did  not  believe  that  he  could 
benefit  them  they  would  not  follow  his  directions.  A 
physician  without  intuition,  having  no  faith  in  himself,  and 
in  whom  no  one  else  has  any  faith,  is  perfectly  useless  as  a 
physician,  no  matter  how  much  he  may  have  learned  in 
schools. 

There  is  nothing  whatever  that  can  be  accomplished 
without  the  power  of  Faith,  and  there  is  no  faith  possible 
without  knowledge.  We  can  only  accomplish  that  of 
which  we  are  confident  that  we  can  accomplish  it,  and  we 
can  only  be  truly  confident  if  we  know  by  experience  that 
we  have  the  power  to  do  it. 

What  does  popular  science  know  about  Mind  ?  Accord- 
ing to  the  usual  definition,  Mind  is  "  the  intellectual 
power  in  man,"  and  as  by  man  she  means  a  visible  form, 
this  definition  makes  of  mind  something  confined  within 
that  visible  form.  But  if  this  conception  were  true,  there 
could  be  no  transmission  of  thought  to  a  distance.  If  no 
mind-substance  did  exist  outside  the  visible  form,  there 
could  be  no  transmission  of  thought  from  one  such  form  to 
another.  No  sound  can  be  heard  in  a  space  from  which 
the  air  has  been  exhausted,  and  no  thought  can  travel 
from  one  individual  to  another  without  a  corresponding 
material  existing  between  them  to  act  as  a  conductor  ;  but 
the  possibility  of  thought-transference  is  now  an  almost 
universally  admitted  fact ;  its  truth  has  been  perceived 
long  ago  by  children  who  make  practical  use  of  it  in  some 
of  their  games.  Moreover,  any  one  who  doubts  its  possi- 
bility has  it  in  his  power  to  convince  himself  by  either 
impressing  his  thoughts  silently  upon  others,  or — if  he  is 
of  a  receptive  nature — by  letting  others  impress  their 
thought  upon  him.  It  must,  therefore,  be  obvious  even  to 
the  superficial  observer,  that  popular  science  in  regard  to 
this  fundamental  doctrine  has  not  yet  arrived  at  the  truth. 
Her  logical  deductions  cannot  be  true  as  long  as  the 
premises  from  which  she  reasons  are  false,  and  her  opinions 
in  regard  to  the  powers  possessed  by  man  cannot  be 
perfect  as  long  as  she  does  not  know  the  essential  nature 
of  Man. 

How  infinitely  more  grand  and  how  much  more  reason- 
able is  the  conception  of  ancient  science,  according  to 


MIND.  55 

whose  doctrines  everything  that  exists  is  an  expression  of 
the  thoughts  of  the  Universal  Mind,  pervading  the  infinity 
of  space  !  This  conception  makes  Mind  a  power  in  the 
realm  of  infinity,  acting  through  living  and  intelligent 
instruments,  and  of  Man,  an  intellectual  power,  an  expres- 
sion of  the  Universal  Mind,  able  to  receive,  reflect,  and 
modify  the  thoughts  of  the  latter,  like  a  diamond  that 
becomes  self-luminous  through  the  influence  of  the  Sun. 

There  is  no  reason  why  we  should  believe  that  an 
intelligent  mind  can  exist  only  in  a  form  which  is  visible 
and  tangible  to  the  external  senses  of  man.  There  may 
be,  for  all  we  know,  untold  millions  of  intelligent  or  semi- 
intelligent  beings  in  the  universe,  whose  forms  are  consti- 
tuted differently  from  ours,  who  live  on  another  plane  of 
existence  than  ours,  and  who  are  therefore  invisible  to  our 
physical  senses,  but  who  nevertheless  have  a  mind,  and 
may  be  perceived  by  the  superior  power  of  perception  of 
the  awakened  spirit.  Nor  is  their  existence  a  matter  of 
mere  speculation,  for  they  may  be  perceived  by  those  who 
have  the  power  of  interior  perception  whenever  they  enter 
the  sphere  of  their  mind. 

All  we  know  of  external  objects  is  the  images  which  they 
produce  in  the  sphere  of  our  mind.  Astral  or  spiritual 
beings  produce  no  reflection  upon  the  retina,  but  their 
presence  may  be  felt  when  they  enter  the  mental  sphere  of 
the  observer,  and  they  may  be  perceived  with  the  eye  of 
the  soul. 

The  ideal  scientist  of  the  future  having  attained  the 
power  of  spiritual  perception,  will  recognize  this  truth. 
But  when  this  time  arrives  scientific  opinions  will  cease  to 
be  mere  beliefs,  and  knowledge  will  take  their  place. 

The  common  utilitarianism  of  our  age  is  the  result  of  a 
general  misconception  of  the  true  nature  of  man,  and  of 
that  which  is  really  useful  and  worthy  of  his  attention. 

If  we  believe  that  the  object  of  life  is  simply  to  render 
our  material  Self  satisfied  and  to  keep  it  in  comfort,  and 
that  material  comfort  confers  the  highest  state  of  possible 
happiness,  we  mistake  the  low  for  the  high  and  an  illusion 
for  the  truth.  Our  material  mode  of  life  is  a  consequence  of 
the  material  constitution  of  our  bodies.  We  are  "  worms 
of  earth  "  because  we  cling  with  all  our  aspirations  to  earth. 
If  we  can  enter  upon  a  path  of  evolution,  by  which  we 
become  less  material  and  more  ethereal,  a  very  different 


56  NECESSITIES. 

order  of  civilization  would  be  established.  Things  which 
now  appear  indispensable  and  necessary  would  cease  to  be 
useful ;  if  we  could  transfer  our  consciousness  with  the 
velocity  of  thought  from  one  part  of  the  globe  to  another, 
the  present  mode  of  communication  and  transportation 
would  be  no  longer  required.  The  deeper  we  sink  into 
matter,  the  more  material  means  for  comfort  will  be 
needed  j  the  essential  and  powerful  god  in  man  is  not 
material — in  the  usual  acceptation  of  this  term — and 
independent  of  the  restrictions  laid  upon  matter. 

What  are  the  real  necessities  of  life  ?  The  answer  to 
this  question  depends  entirely  on  what  we  imagine  to  be 
necessary.  Railways,  steamers,  electric  lights,  &c.,  are 
now  a  necessity  to  us,  and  yet  millions  of  people  have 
lived  long  and  happy  knowing  nothing  about  them.  To 
one  man  a  dozen  of  palaces  may  appear  to  be  an  indispen- 
sable necessity,  to  another  a  carriage,  another  a  pipe,  or  a 
bottle  of  whisky.  But  all  such  necessities  are  only  such  as 
man  himself  has  created.  They  make  the  state  in  which 
man  now  is  agreeable  to  him,  and  tempt  him  to  remain  in 
that  state  and  to  desire  for  nothing  higher.  They  may 
even  hinder  his  development  instead  of  advancing  it.  If 
we  would  rise  into  a  higher  state,  in  which  we  would  no 
longer  require  such  things,  they  would  cease  to  be  a 
necessity,  and  even  become  undesirable  and  useless  j  but 
it  is  the  craving  and  the  wasting  of  thought  for  the  augmen- 
tation of  the  pleasures  of  the  lower  life  which  prevent  man 
to  enter  the  higher  one. 

To  raise  the  evanescent  man  to  a  state  of  perfection 
enjoyed  by  the  permanent  ideal  man  is  the  great  object  of 
life  ;  the  Arcanum^  that  cannot  be  learned  in  books.  It  is 
the  great  secret,  that  may  be  understood  by  a  child,  but  will 
for  ever  be  incomprehensible  to  him  who,  living  entirely  in 
the  realm  of  sensual  perceptions,  has  no  power  to  grasp  it. 
The  attainment  of  that  which  is  the  highest  is  the  Magnum 
opus,  the  great  work,  of  which  the  Alchemists  said  that 
thousands  of  years  may  be  required  to  perform  it,  but  that 
it  may  also  be  accomplished  in  a  moment,  even  by  a 
woman  while  engaged  in  spinning.  They  looked  upon  the 
human  mind  as  being  a  great  alembic,  in  which  the  con- 
tending forces  of  the  emotions  may  be  purified  by  the  heat 
of  holy  aspirations  and  by  a  supreme  love  of  truth.  They 
gave  instructions  how  the  soul  of  mortal  man  maybe  subli* 


THE  ELIXIR  OF  LIFE.  57 

mated  and  purified  from  earthly  attractions,  and  its 
immortal  parts  be  made  living  and  free.  The  purified 
elements  were  made  to  ascend  to  the  supreme  source  of 
law,  and  descended  again  in  showers  of  snowy  whiteness, 
visible  to  all,  because  they  rendered  every  act  of  life  holy 
and  pure.  They  taught  how  the  base  metals — meaning 
the  animal  energies  in  man — could  be  transformed  into  the 
pure  gold  of  true  spirituality,  and  how  by  attaining  spiritual 
life — allegorically  represented  under  the  "  Elixir  of  Life" 
— souls  could  have  their  youth  and  innocence  restored  and 
be  rendered  immortal. 

Their  truths  shared  the  fate  of  other  truths  ;  they  were 
misunderstood  and  rejected  by  the  ignorant,  who  con- 
tinually clamor  for  truth  and  reject  it  when  it  is  offered, 
because,  being  blind,  they  are  unable  to  see  it ;  their 
scielnce  is  known  only  to  those  who  are  able  to  grasp 
it.  Theology  and  Masonry  have — each  in  its  own  manner 
— continued  the  teachings  of  the  Alchemists,  and  fortunate 
is  the  Mason  or  the  priest  who  understands  that  which  he 
teaches.  But  of  such  true  disciples  there  are  only  few. 
The  systems  in  which  the  old  truths  have  been  embodied 
are  still  in  existence,  but  the  cold  hands  of  Sensualism  and 
Materialism  have  been  laid  upon  the  outward  forms,  and 
from  the  interior  the  spirit  has  fled.  Doctors  and  priests 
see  only  the  outward  form,  and  few  can  see  the  hidden 
mystery  that  called  these  forms  into  existence.  The  key 
to  the  inner  sanctuary  has  been  lost  by  those  that  were 
entrusted  with  its  keeping,  and  the  true  password  has  not 
been  rediscovered  by  the  followers  of  Hiram  Abiff.  The 
riddle  of  the  Egyptian  Sphinx  still  waits  fora  solution,  and 
will  be  revealed  to  none  unless  he  becomes  strong  enough 
to  discover  it  himself. 

But  the  truth  still  lives.  It  resides  on  the  top  of  a 
"  mountain  "  called  Faith  into  the  eternal  Law  of  Good. 
It  shines  deep  into  the  interior  world  of  man,  and  sends  its 
divine  influence  down  into  the  valleys,  and  wherever  the 
doors  and  windows  are  open  to  receive  it,  there  will  it 
dispel  the  darkness,  rendering  men  and  women  conscious 
of  their  own  godlike  attributes  and  guiding  them  on  the 
road  to  perfection,  until,  when  all  their  struggles  have 
ceased  and  the  law  has  been  restored,  they  will  find 
permanent  happiness  in  the  realization  of  the  highest 
universal  ideal, 


Y 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   REAL   AND    THE   UNREAL. 
"  Allah  I     Bi'-smi'-llah  !— God  is  One."— Koran. 

EVERYWHERE  in  the  broad  expanse  of  the  universe  we  see 
an  almost  infinite  variety  of  forms,  belonging  to  different 
kingdoms  and  species,  and  exhibiting  an  endless  variety  of 
appearances.  The  substance  of  which  those  forms  are 
composed  may,  for  aught  we  know,  consist  essentially  of 
the  same  primordial  material,  forming  the  basis  of  their 
constitution,  although  the  qualities  of  the  various  bodies 
may  differ  from  each  other,  and  it  is  far  more  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  this  one  primordial  eternal  essence  exists  and 
appears  in  the  course  of  evolution  in  various  forms,  than  to 
believe  that  a  number  of  different  original  substances  have 
come  into  existence  either  by  being  created  out  of  nothing 
or  otherwise.  What  this  primordial  essence — this  imma- 
terial substance* — may  be  we  do  not  know,  we  only  know 
of  its  manifestation  in  forms  which  we  call  things.  What- 
ever may  find  expression  in  one  form  or  another  may  be 
called  a  thing,  and  a  thing  may  change  its  substance  and 
yet  the  form  remain  the  same,  or  its  form  may  change  and 
the  substance  remain.  Water  may  be  frozen  into  solid  ice, 
or  be  transformed  by  heat  into  invisible  vapor ;  and 
vapor  may  be  chemically  decomposed  into  hydrogen  and 
oxygen ;  yet,  if  the  necessary  conditions  are  given,  the 
energies  which  previously  formed  water  will  form  water 
again ;  the  forms  and  attributes  change,  but  the  elements 
remain  the  same  and  may  combine  again  in  certain  stipu- 
lated proportions,  regulated  by  the  law  of  attraction. 


*  The  A'kasa  of  the  Brahmins  or  the  Iliaster  of  Paracelsus,  the 
Universal  Proteus, 


UTILITY  OF  PRINCIPLE.  59 

As  this  hypothetical  primordial  substance  or  principle 
has  no  attributes  which  we  can  perceive  with  our  senses, 
we  cannot  see  it  or  feel  it,  and  we  therefore  do  not  know 
the  real  substance  of  a  thing ;  we  only  distinguish  the 
peculiarities  of  the  attributes  of  its  form,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  distinction  and  classification  we  give  it  a  name. 
We  may  gradually  deprive  a  thing  of  some  of  its  attributes 
or  substance  and  change  its  form,  and  yet  it  remains  that 
thing  as  long  as  its  character  remains,  and  even  after  we 
destroy  its  form  and  dissolve  its  substance  the  character  of 
the  thing  still  remains  as  an  idea  in  the  subjective  world, 
where  we  cannot  destroy  it,  and  we  may  clothe  the  old 
idea  with  new  attributes  and  produce  it  under  a  new  form 
on  the  objective  plane.  A  thing  exists  as  long  as  its  char- 
acter exists,  only  when  it  changes  its  character  it  ceases  to 
be.  A  material  thing  is  only  the  symbol  or  the  represen- 
tation of  an  idea ;  we  may  give  it  a  name,  but  the  thing 
itself  remains  forever  hidden  behind  the  veil.  If  we  could 
on  the  physical  plane  separate  a  single  substance  from  its 
attributes,  and  endow  it  with  others  at  will,  then  one  body 
could  be  transformed  into  another,  as,  for  instance,  base 
metals  be  transformed  into  gold ;  but  unless  we  change  the 
character  of  a  thing,  a  mere  change  of  its  form  will  only 
affect  its  external  appearance. 

By  way  of  illustration,  let  us  look  at  a  stick.  It  is  made 
of  wood,  but  this  is  not  essential;  it  might  be  made  of 
something  else  and  still  be  a  stick.  We  do  not  perceive 
the  stick  itself,  we  only  see  its  attributes,  its  extension  and 
color  and  density ;  we  feel  its  weight,  and  we  hear  its  sound 
if  we  strike  it.  Each  of  these  attributes  or  all  of  them 
may  be  changed,  and  it  may  remain  a  stick  for  all  that,  as 
long  as  its  character  is  not  lost,  because  that  which  essen- 
tially constitutes  it  a  stick  is  its  character  or  an  idea  which 
has  not  necessarily  a  definite  form.  Let  us  endow  that 
formless  idea  with  new  attributes  that  will  change  its  char- 
acter, and  we  shall  have  transformed  our  ideal  stick  into 
anything  we  choose  to  make  of  it. 

We  cannot  change  copper  into  gold  on  the  physical 
plane,  we  cannot  change  a  man  into  a  physical  child,  but 
we  may  daily  transform  our  desires,  our  aspirations  and 
tastes  by  the  omnipotent  power  of  the  will.  In  doing  this 
we  change  our  character,  and  make  of  man — even  on  the 
physical  plane — a  different  being. 


60  CHARACTER. 

Nobody  ever  saw  a  real  man,  we  only  perceive  the 
qualities  which  he  possesses.  Man  cannot  see  himself. 
He  speaks  of  his  body,  his  soul,  his  spirit ;  it  is  only  the 
combination  of  the  three  which  constitutes  what  we  con- 
sider a  man,  the  Ego  in  which  his  character  rests  is  some- 
thing for  which  we  have  no  conception.  As  an  idea  and 
yet  an  individual  unit  he  enters  the  world  of  matter,  evo- 
lutes  a  new  personality,  obtains  new  experience  and 
knowledge,  passes  through  the  pleasures  and  vicissitudes 
of  life  and  through  the  valley  of  death,  and  enters  again 
into  that  realm  where  in  the  course  of  ages  his  form  will 
cease  to  exist,  to  appear  again  in  a  form  upon  the  scene 
when  the  hour  for  his  reappearance  strikes.  His  form  and 
personality  change,  his  real  Ego  remains  the  same  and  yet 
not  the  same,  because  during  life  it  acquires  new  attributes 
and  changes  its  characteristics.* 

We  see  that  a  plant  ceases  to  grow  when  its  roots  are 
torn  from  the  soil,  and  when  they  are  replaced  into  the 
soil  the  growth  may  continue.  Likewise  the  human  spirit, 
man's  higher  self,  takes  root  in  the  physical  organism  of 
man,  and  develops  a  soul  through  the  latter,  but  when 
death  tears  out  the  roots,  the  soul  rests  and  ceases  to 
grow,  until  it  finds  again  a  physical  organism  to  acquire 
new  conditions  for  continued  growth,  and  to  improve  its 
own  real  self. 

What  can  this  real  ego  be,  which  lives  through  death  and 
changes  during  life,  unless  it  is  The  Will  itself,  obtaining 
relative  consciousness  by  coming  in  contact  with  matter  ? 
Is  any  man  certain  of  his  own  existence  ?  All  the  proof 
we  have  of  our  existence  is  in  our  consciousness,  in  the 
feeling  of  the  /  am,  in  which  is  the  realization  of  our  exist- 


*  A  true  appreciation  of  the  essential  nature  of  man  will  show  that 
the  repeated  reincarnation  of  the  human  monad  in  successive  personali- 
ties is  a  scientific  necessity.  How  could  it  be  possible  for  a  man  to 
develop  into  a  state  of  perfection,  if  the  time  of  his  spiritual  growth 
were  restricted  to  the  period  of  one  short  existence  upon  this  globe  ? 
If  he  could  go  on  and  develop  without  having  a  physical  body,  then 
why  should  it  have  been  necessary  for  him  to  take  a  physical  body  at 
all  ?  It  is  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  the  spiritual  germ  of  a  man 
begins  its  existence  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  the  physical  body,  or  that 
the  physical  parents  of  the  child  could  be  the  generators  of  the  spiritual 
monad.  If  the  spiritual  monad  existed  before  the  body  was  born,  and 
could  develop  without  it,  what  would  be  the  use  of  its  entering  any  body 
at  all  ? 


CHANGE  OF  ATTRIBUTES.  61 

ence.  Every  other  state  of  consciousness  is  subject  to 
change.  The  consciousness  of  one  moment  differs  from 
that  of  another,  according  to  the  changes  which  take  place 
in  the  conditions  which  surround  us,  and  according  to  the 
variety  of  our  impressions.  We  are  craving  for  change 
and  death ;  to  remain  always  the  same  would  be  torture. 
Old  impressions  die  and  are  replaced  with  new  ones,  and 
we  rejoice  to  see  the  old  ones  die,  so  that  the  new  ones 
may  step  into  their  places.  We  do  not  make  our  impres- 
sions ourselves,  but  we  receive  them  from  the  outside 
world.  If  it  were  possible  that  two  or  more  persons  could 
be  born  and  educated  under  exactly  the  same  conditions, 
having  the  same  character  and  receiving  always  the  same 
impressions,  they  would  always  have  the  same  thoughts, 
the  same  feelings  and  desires,  their  consciousness  would  be 
identical,  and  they  might  be  considered  as  forming  collec- 
tively only  one  person.  A  person,  having  forgotten  all 
the  mental  impressions  he  ever  received,  and  receiving  no 
new  ones,  might  exist  for  ages,  living  in  eternal  imbecility, 
with  no  consciousness  whatever  except  the  consciousness 
of  the  /  Am,  and  that  consciousness  could  not  cease  to 
exist  as  long  as  there  is  in  him  that  Will  which  enables  him 
to  be* 

*  This  is  the  only  possible  condition  in  which  a  person,  who  has  during 
his  earthly  life  acquired  no  spiritual  possessions,  can  possibly  exist  after 
death.  A  person  whose  whole  attention  is  given  to  sensual  pleasures, 
or  to  merely  intellectual  pursuits  on  the  material  plane,  carries  nothing 
with  him  into  the  subjective  existence  after  the  death  of  the  body  which 
can  exist  permanently.  Nor  could  it  be  otherwise ;  for  it  is  not  he  who 
dies  ;  it  is  the  false  egos  dying  in  him.  A  man  who  does  not  know  his 
own  true  self  cannot  die,  because  he  has  not  yet  come  to  life ;  it  is  only 
nature,  living  and  dying  in  him. 

His  sensations  leave  him  at  death,  and  the  images  caused  in  his  mind 
by  the  recollection  of  the  superficial  knowledge  which  he  has  acquired 
during  life  will  gradually  fade  away  ;  the  intellectual  forces,  which  have 
been  set  into  motion  by  his  scientific  pursuits,  will  be  exhausted,  and 
after  that  time  the  spirit  of  such  a  person,  even  if  he  has  been  during  life 
the  greatest  scientist,  speculator,  and  logician,  will  be  nothing  but  an 
imbecile  being,  having  merely  the  feeling  that  he  exists,  living  in  dark- 
ness, and  being  drawn  irresistibly  towards  reincarnation  ;  seeking  to 
reimbody  itself  again  under  any  circumstances  whatever,  to  escape  from 
nothingness  into  existence. 

But  he  who  acquires  spiritual  self-consciousness  will  be  self-luminous 
and  live  in  the  eternal  light.  He  brings  a  light  with  him  into  the  dark- 
ness, and  that  light  will  not  be  distinguished,  for  it  is  eternal ;  while 
the  light  of  this  world  is  like  darkness  to  him. 


62  RELATIVE  LIFE. 

Under  whatever  form  life  may  exist,  it  is  only  relative. 
A  stone,  a  plant,  an  animal,  a  man  or  God,  each  has  an 
existence  of  its  own,  and  each  one  exists  only  for  the 
others,  as  long  as  the  others  are  conscious  of  his  existence. 
Man  looks  upon  the  existences  below  him  as  incomplete, 
and  the  incomplete  beings  below  him  know  little  about 
him.  Man  knows  little  about  any  superior  beings,  and  yet 
there  may  be  such,  looking  upon  him  with  pity  as  they 
would  look  upon  an  inferior  animal  that  has  not  yet  awak- 
ened to  a  realization  of  its  real  existence. 

Those  who  are  supposed  to  know,  inform  us  that  there 
is  no  being  in  the  universe  superior  to  the  spiritual  regener- 
ated man ;  but  that  there  are  innumerable  invisible  beings 
who  are  either  far  superior  or  inferior  to  mortal  man  as 
we  know  him.  In  other  words,  the  highest  beings  in  the 
universe  are  such  as  have  once  been  men ;  but  the  men 
and  women  of  our  present  civilization  may  have  to  progress 
through  millions  of  ages  before  they  attain  that  state  of 
perfection  which  such  beings  possess. 

We  are  accustomed  to  look  upon  that  which  we  perceive 
with  our  senses  as  real,  and  upon  everything  else  as  unreal, 
and  yet  our  daily  experience  teaches  us  that  our  senses 
cannot  be  trusted  if  we  wish  to  distinguish  between  the 
true  and  the  false.  We  see  the  sun  rise  in  the  East,  see 
him  travel  along  the  sky  during  the  day  and  dis- 
appear again  in  the  West ;  but  every  child  now-a-days 
knows  that  this  apparent  movement  is  only  an  illusion, 
caused  by  the  turning  of  the  earth.  At  night  we  see  the 
"  fixed "  stars  above  our  heads,  they  look  insignificant 
compared  with  the  wide  expanse  of  the  earth  and  the  ocean, 
and  yet  we  believe  that  they  are  blazing  suns,  in  compari- 
son with  which  our  mother  Earth  is  only  a  speck  of  dust. 
Nothing  seems  to  us  more  quiet  and  tranquil  than  the 
solid  rocks  under  our  feet,  and  yet  the  earth  whereon  we 
live  whirls  with  tremendous  velocity  through  space ;  the 
mountains  seem  to  be  everlasting,  but  continents  sink 
beneath  the  waters  of  the  ocean  and  rise  again  above  its 
surface.  Below  our  feet  moves,  with  ebbs  and  tides,  the 
swelling  bosom  of  our  apparently  solid  mother  the  earth, 
above  our  head  seems  to  be  nothing  tangible,  and  yet  we 
live  on  the  very  bottom  of  the  airy  ocean  above  us,  and  do 
not  know  the  things  that  may  perhaps  live  in  its  currents 
or  upon  its  surface.  A  stream  of  light  seems  to  descend 


RELATIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS.  63 

from  the  sun  to  our  planet,  and  yet  darkness  is  said  to 
exist  between  the  atmosphere  of  the  Earth  and  the  sun, 
where  no  meteoric  ^  matter  exists  to  cause  a  reflection; 
while  again  we  are  surrounded  by  an  ocean  of  light  of  a 
higher  order,  which  appears  to  us  to  be  darkness,  because 
the  nerves  of  our  bodies  have  hot  yet  been  sufficiently 
developed  to  react  under  the  influence  of  the  Astral  Light. 
The  image  reflected  in  the  mirror  seems  a  reality  to  the 
unreasoning  mind ;  the  voice  of  an  echo  may  be  mistaken 
for  the  voice  of  a  man  ;  the  elemental  forces  of  nature  may 
be  loaded  with  the  products  of  our  own  thoughts,  and  we 
may  listen  to  their  echo,  believing  it  to  be  the  voices  of 
spirits  of  the  departed.  We  often  dream  when  awake,  and 
while  believing  to  be  awake  we  may  be  asleep. 

It  is  not  scientific  to  say  "  we  are  asleep ; "  as  long  as 
we  do  not  know  who  "  we "  are.  We  can  only  truly  say 
that  such  and  such  functions  of  a  physical  or  psychical 
organism,  which  we  call  our  own,  are  asleep  or  inactive 
while  others  are  active  and  awake.  We  may  be  fully 
awake  relatively  to  one  thing  and  asleep  relatively  to 
another.  A  somnambulJs  body  may  be  in  a  state  resem- 
bling death,  while  his  higher  consciousness  is  fully  alive, 
and  has  even  far  superior  powers  of  perception  than  it 
could  employ  if  all  the  activity  of  his  life-principle  were 
engaged  in  performing  the  functions  of  his  lower  organism. 

Solid  matter  looked  at  with  the  physical  eye  appears  as 
a  dense  mass  of  unchangeable  something,  but  examined 
with  the  eye  of  the  intellect  it  appears  as  an  aggregation 
of  centers  of  energy  easily  penetrable  to  thought.  A  solid 
mass  is  therefore  in  reality  a  concentration  of  force,  and 
what  we  behold  in  the  form  of  matter  of  any  kind  is  only 
the  symbol  of  stored-up  energy,  a  visible  expression  of  the 
invisible  force  residing  in  matter.  Seen  with  the  eyes  of 
the  spirit,  matter  and  force  are  known  to  be  only  one,  the 
twofold  activity  of  one  eternal  reality,  the  twofold  mani- 
festation of  eternal  power. 

Matter  is  an  external  visible  manifestation  of  force, 
having  become  latent ;  Spirit  is  an  internal  invisible 
active  power.  Both  are  the  two  different  modes  of  mani- 
festation of  one  primal  cause. 

If  we  turn  from  the  consideration  of  form  to  that  of 
space,  and  examine  what  relation  extension  and  duration 
bear  to  the  consciousness  of  forms,  we  find  that  their 


64  MATTER. 

qualities  change  according  to  our  standard  of  measure- 
ment and  according  to  our  mode  of  perception.  To  an 
animalculne  in  a  drop  of  water  that  drop  may  appear  as  an 
ocean,  and  to  an  insect  living  on  a  leaf  that  leaf  may  con- 
stitute a  world.  If  during  our  sleep  the  whole  of  the  visible 
world  were  to  shrink  to  the  size  of  a  walnut  or  expand  to 
a  thousandfold  its  present  dimensions,  on  awakening  we 
should  perceive  no  change,  provided  that  change  had 
equally  affected  everything,  including  ourselves.  A  child 
has  no  conception  of  its  true  relation  to  space,  and  may  try 
to  grasp  the  moon  with  its  hands,  and  a  person  who  has 
been  born  blind  and  is  afterwards  made  to  see,  cannot  judge 
of  distances  correctly.  Our  thoughts  know  of  no  intervening 
space  when  they  travel  from  one  part  of  the  globe  to 
another  in  an  almost  imperceptible  space  of  time.  Our 
conceptions  of  our  relation  to  space  are  based  upon 
experience  and  memory  acquired  in  our  present  condition. 
If  we  were  moving  among  entirely  different  conditions,  our 
experiences,  and  consequently  our  conceptions,  would  be 
entirely  different.  Our  idea  of  relative  space  is  a  mode  of 
perception  of  distance,  and  there  appear  to  be  as  many 
dimensions  of  space  as  there  are  modes  of  perception  or 
consciousness.  Space  relatively  to  form  can  only  have 
three  dimensions,  because  all  forms  are  composed  of  three 
dimensions — length,  thickness  and  height.  A  conscious- 
ness existing  in  a  mathematical  point  could  have  no  con- 
ception of  form,  because  such  a  point  has  no  form.  A 
consciousness  existing  in  a  line  or  in  a  plane  without 
thickness  could  have  no  conception  of  form,  because  the 
former  having  only  one,  and  the  latter  only  two  extensions, 
cannot  exist  as  forms,  but  only  as  mathematical  abstrac- 
tions. Consciousness  in  the  absolute  sense  is  without 
form,  but  entering  into  relation  to  form,  its  relation  to 
space  will  be  threefold,  because  three  is  the  number  of 
form. 

It  is  evidently  an  absurdity  to  talk  about  forms  existing 
in  a  fourth  dimension  of  space ;  because  three  is  the 
number  of  form,  and  no  form  whatever,  whether  visible  or 
invisible,  can  possibly  exist  without  possessing  the  three 
factors,  which  are  necessary  to  constitute  it  a  form,  namely, 
length,  breadth  and  thickness.  There  may  be  innumer- 
able invisible  powers  in  space;  but  whenever  any  such 
power  manifests  itself  in  a  form,  it  always  belongs  to  three 


SPACE.  65 

dimensions  of  space.  Absolute  Space  like  Matter  and  Mo- 
tion is  fundamentally  one,  and  has  no  dimensions  for  any 
body.  It  only  manifests  dimensions,  when  it  becomes 
relative  to  forms,  and  forms  are  necessarily  always  three 
dimensional. 

Space  in  the  absolute  is  independent  of  form,  but  forms 
cannot  exist  independent  of  space.  We  may  imagine  our- 
selves to  be  in  the  midst  of  a  solid  rock,  and  we  will  be 
there  in  space,  although  there  will  be  no  room  in  which  we 
could  move.  Everyone  knows  that  there  exists  a  difference 
between  good  and  evil,  between  love  and  hate,  between 
knowledge  and  ignorance  ;  but  if  two  things  or  ideas  differ 
from  each  other  there  is  the  idea  of  a  distance  of  some  kind 
between  them,  and  distance  means  space,  but  a  space  that 
has  in  such  cases  no  relation  to  form,  and  of  which  we  can 
form  no  conception. 

As  our  conception  of  space  is  only  relative,  so  is  our 
conception  of  time.  It  is  not  time  itself,  but  its  measure- 
ment, of  which  we  are  conscious,  and  time  is  nothing  to  us 
unless  in  connection  with  our  association  of  ideas.  The 
human  mind  can  only  receive  a  small  number  of  impressions 
per  second  ;  if  we  were  to  receive  only  one  impression  per 
hour,  our  life  would  seem  exceedingly  short,  and  if  we 
were  able  to  receive,  for  instance,  the  impression  of  each 
single  undulation  of  a  yellow  ray  of  light,  whose  vibrations 
number  509  billions  per  second,  a  single  day  in  our  life 
would  appear  to  be  an  eternity  without  end.*  To  a 
prisoner  in  a  dungeon,  who  has  no  occupation,  time  may 
seem  extremely  long,  while  for  him  who  is  actively  engaged 
it  passes  quickly.  During  sleep  we  have  no  conception  of 
time,  but  a  sleepless  night  passed  in  suffering  seems  very 
long.  During  a  few  seconds  of  time  we  may,  in  a  dream, 
pass  through  experiences  which  would  require  a  number  of 
years  in  the  regular  course  of  events,  while  in  the  uncon- 
scious state  time  has  no  existence  for  us. 

In  books  on  mystical  subjects  we  find  often  accounts  of 
a  person  having  dreamed  in  a  short  moment  of  time,  things 
which  we  should  suppose  that  it  would  take  hours  to  dream 
them  ;  for  instance  the  following  :  "  A  traveler  arrived  late 
at  night  at  a  station.  He  was  very  fatigued,  and  as  the 
conductor  opened  the  door  of  the  car,  he  entered,  and  im- 


Carl  du  Prel :  "  Die  Planetenbewohner." 


66  TIME. 

mediately  fell  asleep.  He  dreamed  that  he  was  at  home, 
and  living  with  his  family ;  that  he  fell  in  love  with  a  girl 
and  married  her ;  that  he  lived  happy  until  he  meddled 
with  political  affairs,  and  was  arrested  on  a  charge  of  having 
entered  into  a  conspiracy  against  the  government.  He 
was  tried,  and  condemned  to  be  shot,  and  led  out  to  be 
executed.  Arrived  at  the  place  of  execution,  the  command 
was  given,  and  the  soldiers  fired  at  him,  and  he  awoke  at 
the  noise  caused  by  the  shutting  of  the  door  of  the  car, 
which  the  conductor  had  shut  behind  him  when  our  friend 
entered.  It  seems  probable  that  the  noise  produced  by 
shutting  that  door  caused  the  whole  dream." 

In  this  state,  when  the  experiences  of  the  internal  state 
mingles  with  the  sensations  of  the  external  consciousness, 
the  most  erroneous  impressions  may  be  produced ;  because 
the  intellect  labors,  logic  and  reflection  exist ;  but  reason 
does  not  act  sufficiently  powerful  to  discriminate  between 
the  true  and  the  false. 

But  what  is  the  difference  between  objective  and  subjec- 
tive states  of  existence  ?  Our  bodies  do  not  cease  to  live 
while  we  are  asleep,  but  we  have  a  different  kind  of  per- 
ceptions in  either  state.  The  popular  idea  is  that  objec- 
tive perceptions  are  real  and  subjective  ones  only  the 
products  of  our  imagination.  But  a  little  reflection  will 
show  that  all  perceptions,  the  objective  as  well  as  the  sub- 
jective ones,  are  results  of  our  "imagination."  If  we  look 
at  a  tree,  the  tree  does  not  come  into  our  eye,  but  its 
picture  appears  in  our  mind-;  if  we  look  at  a  form  we  per- 
ceive an  impression  made  in  our  mind  by  the  image  of  an 
object  existing  beyond  the  limits  of  our  body  ;  if  we  look 
at  a  subjective  image  or  a  thought,  whether  it  be  of  our 
own  creation  or  caused  by  the  influence  of  another  being, 
we  perceive  the  impression  which  it  produces  on  our  mind. 
In  either  case  the  pictures  exist  in  our  mind,  and  we  per- 
ceive nothing  but  the  impressions  made  on  the  mind,  and 
the  only  difference  between  the  two  is,  that  in  the  former 
case  the  impression  is  caused  by  something  visible,  and  in 
the  latter  by  something  invisible  to  our  physical  sight,  but 
the  internal  impressions  may  be  as  real  as  the  external 
ones.  If  we  close  our  eyes  the  latter  vanish  and  the  former 
appear  more  distinct.  If  our  eyes  are  open,  the  former 
may  become  mixed  with  the  latter,  or  be  entirely  superseded 
by  them  on  account  of  their  superior  strength. 


PROJECTED  MENTAL  IMAGES.  67 

The  fact  is,  that  everything  appears  either  objective  or 
subjective  according  to  the  state  of  consciousness  of  the 
perceiver,  and  what  may  appear  to  him  entirely  subjective 
in  one  state  may  appear  to  him  objectively  in  another. 
The  highest  truths  have  to  him  who  can  realize  them  an 
objective  existence,  the  grossest  material  forms  have  no 
existence  to  him  who  cannot  perceive  them. 

The  basis  upon  which  all  exhibition  of  magical  power 
rests  is  a  knowledge  of  the  relations  that  exist  between 
object  and  subject.  If  we  conceive  in  our  mind  of  the 
picture  of  a  thing  we  have  seen  before,  an  objective  form 
of  that  thing  comes  into  existence  within  our  own  mind, 
and  is  composed  of  the  substance  of  our  own  mind.  If! 
by  continual  practice  we  gain  sufficient  power  to  hold  on 
to  that  image  and  to  prevent  it  from  being  driven  away  and 
dispersed  by  other  thoughts,  it  will  become  comparatively 
dense,  and  be  projected  upon  the  mental  sphere  of  others, 
so  that  the  latter  may  actually  believe  to  see  objectively 
that  which  exists  merely  as  an  image  within  our  own  mind  ; 
but  he  who  cannot  hold  on  to  a  thought  and  control  it  at 
will  cannot  produce  its  reflections  upon  the  minds  of 
others,  and  therefore  such  psychological  experiments  often 
fail,  not  on  account  of  any  absolute  impossibility  to  per- 
form them,  but  on  account  of  the  weakness  of  those  who 
desire  to  experiment,  but  have  not  the  power  to  control 
their  own  thoughts,  and  to  render  them  solid  enough  for 
transmission. 

Everything  is  either  a  reality  or  a  delusion,  according  to 
the  standpoint  from  which  we  view  it.  The  words  "  real" 
and  "  unreal"  are  only  relative  terms,  and  what  may  seem 
real  in  one  state  of  existence  appears  unreal  in  another. 
Money,  luxury,  fame,  adulation,  etc.,  appear  very  real 
to  those  who  need  them;  seen  from  the  point  of  view 
of  a  god  who  has  no  use  for  them  they  appear  to  be 
only  illusions.  That  which  we  realize  is  real  to  us, 
however  unreal  it  may  appear  to  another,  and  the  appear- 
ance of  reality  changes  as  our  consciousness  changes. 
If  my  imagination  is  powerful  enough  to  make  me  firmly 
believe  in  the  presence  of  an  angel,  that  angel  will  be 
there,  alive  and  real,  my  own  creation,  no  matter  how 
invisible  and  unreal  he  may  be  to  another.  If  your 
mind  can  create  for  you  a  paradise  in  a  wilderness, 
that  paradise  will  have  for  you  an  objective  existence. 


68  OBJECTIVE  EXISTENCE. 

Everything  that  exists,  exists  in  the  universal  Mind. 
If  the  individual  mind  becomes  conscious  of  his  relation 
to  a  thing,  it  begins  to  perceive  it.  No  man  can  cor- 
rectly conceive  of  a  thing  that  does  not  exist,  he  cannot 
know  anything  with  which  he  stands  in  no  relation.  To 
perceive,  three  facts  are  necessary  :  The  perception,  the 
perceiver,  and  the  thing  that  is  the  object  of  perception. 
If  they  exist  on  entirely  different  planes,  and  cannot  enter 
into  relationship,  no  perception  will  be  possible  between 
them,  and  they  will  not  know  each  other ;  if  they  are  one, 
there  will  be  no  perception,  because  the  three  being  one, 
there  can  be  no  relation  between  them.  If  I  wish  to  look 
at  my  face,  and  am  not  able  to  step  out  of  myself,  I  must 
use  a  mirror  to  establish  a  relation  between  myself  and  the 
object  of  my  perception.  The  mirror  has  no  sensation, 
and  I  cannot  see  myself  in  the  mirror,  I  can  only  see  my- 
self in  my  mind.  The  reflection  of  the  mirror  produces  a 
reflection  which  is  objective  to  my  individual  mind,  and 
which  comes  to  my  subjective  perception.  Looked  at 
from  the  standpoint  of  individual  perception,  I  and  the 
image  produced  in  my  mind,  as  well  as  the  mirror,  have 
each  a  separate  existence ;  but  looked  at  from  the  stand- 
point of  The  Absolute,  myself,  the  image  and  the  mirror 
are  only  One ;  the  difference  between  us  is  merely  one  of 
appearance. 

Reflection  upon  these  facts  will  give  us  a  key  to  an 
understanding  of  man's  nature,  and  some  of  his  mysteries. 
We  cannot  objectively  see  the  light  or  the  tiuth,  as  long  as 
we  are  within  the  centre  of  the  one  or  the  other.  Only 
when  we  enter  beyond  the  centre  of  the  light,  can  we  see 
the  source  of  the  latter ;  only  when  we  fall  into  error,  will 
we  learn  to  appreciate  the  truth.  As  long  as  primordial 
man  was  one  with  the  centre  of  universal  power  from 
which  he  emanated  as  a  spiritual  ray  or  entity  in  the 
beginning,  he  could  not  know  the  divine  source  from  which 
he  came.  The  will  and  imagination  of  the  Universal  Mind 
were  his  own  will  and  imagination.  Only  when  he  began 
to  "  step  out  of  himself"  could  he  begin  to  imagine  that  he 
existed  as  a  separate  "  Self ;  "  only  when  he  began  to  act 
against  the  law,  did  he  begin  to  realize  that  there  was 
another  law  than  his  own.  When  man,  as  a  spiritual 
entity,  having  attained  perfection,  enters  again  into  the 
centre,  his  sense  of  self  and  separateness  will  be  lost,  but 


CREA  TION.  69 

he  will  be  in  possession  of  knowledge.  To  see  a  thing,  it 
must  become  objective.  To  know  a  thing,  we  must  be 
separated  from  it.  When  we  fully  comprehend  a  thing, 
we  become  one  with  it,  and  know  it  by  knowing  ourselves. 

This  example  is  intended  to  illustrate  the  fundamental 
law  of  creation.  The  first  great  cause — so  to  say — 
stepping  out  of  itself,  becomes  its  own  mirror,  and  thereby 
establishes  a  relation  with  itself.  u  God  "  sees  His  face 
reflected  in  eternal  Nature ;  the  Universal  Mind  sees  itself 
reflected  in  the  individual  mind  of  man.  The  Father  comes 
to  relative  consciousness  in  the  Son,  but  when  He  again 
retires  into  Himself  the  relation  will  cease  ;  the  Father 
will  then  be  again  absolutely  one  with  the  Son.  He  will 
again  become  one  with  Himself,  there  will  be  no  more 
relative  consciousness,  and  "  Brahm  will  go  to  sleep  "  until 
the  night  of  creation  has  ceased.  But  God  knows  that  he 
exists  even  after  all  his  relation  with  external  things  has 
ceased,  and  does  not  need  to  look  continually  into  a  mirror 
to  be  reminded  of  that  fact.  Likewise  the  absolute  con- 
sciousness of  the  great  I  am  is  independent  of  the  objective 
existence  of  Nature,  and  He  will  still  "  sit  on  the  great  white 
throne  after  the  earth  and  the  heaven  fled  away  frpm  His 
face."  * 

If  the  world  is  a  manifestation  of  the  Universal  Mind, 
everything  that  exists  must  exist  in  that  mind ;  there  can 
be  nothing  beyond  the  Universal  Mind,  because  it  is 
necessarily  infinite ;  it  can  be  only  One,  and  there  can  be 
no  beyond.  We  exist  in  that  Mind,  and  all  we  perceive  of 
external  objects  is  the  impressions  which  they  produce 
upon  our  individual  minds  through  the  medium  of  the 
senses  or  by  a  superior  mode  of  perception. 

The  superior  powers  of  perceptions  are  those  possessed 
by  the  inner  man,  and  they  become  developed  after  the 
inner  man  awakens  to  self-consciousness.  They  correspond 
to  the  senses  of  the  external  man,  such  as  seeing,  hearing, 

*  St.  John :  Revelations  xx.  2.  If  the  old  maxim  is  true  that  u  it 
is  above  as  it  is  below,"  it  then  follows  that  God  never  sleeps.  Man's 
spirit  is  not  unconscious  when  his  physical  body  is  asleep.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  more  fully  awake  when  centered  in  its  own  self- 
consciousness.  Likewise  the  "  sleep  of  Brahm  "  during  N Pralaya 
can  only  refer  to  his  external  creative  activity,  but  not  to  his  celestial 
existence  in  his  own  self-conscious  light. 


70  INNER  SENSES. 

feeling,  tasting,  smelling,  and  other  modes  of  perception, 
which  are  not  yet  developed  in  the  physical  man. 

External  sensual  perceptions  are  necessary  to  see  sensual 
things ;  the  internal  sensual  perceptions  are  necessary  to 
see  internal  things.  Physical  matter  is  as  invisible  to  the 
spiritual  sight  as  astral  bodies  are  to  the  physical  eyes  j 
but  as  every  object  in  nature  has  its  astral  counterpart 
within  the  physical  form,  it  may  see,  hear,  feel,  taste,  and 
smell  with  its  astral  senses  those  astral  objects,  and  there- 
by know  the  attributes  of  the  physical  objects  as  well  or 
still  better  than  the  physical  man  might  have  been  able  to 
do  with  his  physical  senses ;  but  neither  the  physical  nor 
the  astral  senses  will  be  able  to  perceive,  unless  they  are 
permeated  by  the  light  of  the  spirit  which  endows  them 
with  life. 

If  everything  that  exists  is  Mind,  and  if  we  ourselves  are 
that  Mind,  all  the  forms  of  the  subjective  as  well  as  the 
objective  words  can  be  nothing  else  but  states  of  our 
Mind.  Thought  is  the  creative  power  in  the  universe. 
Thought-germs  grow  in  the  mind  as  the  seeds  of  plants 
grow  in  the  soil  of  the  earth.  The  latter  are  quickened 
into  life  by  the  light  of  the  sun,  the  former  by  the  light  of 
intelligence.  At  the  beginning  of  a  day  of  creation,  Brahm, 
begins  to  create,  his  thoughts  call  worlds  into  existence. 
Things  are  materialized  thoughts,  or  states  of  mind  having 
been  rendered  objective.  Few  persons  have  the  power  to 
think  spontaneously  and  independently,  although  all  may 
believe  to  have  that  power ;  if  they  were  able  to  manipulate 
thought  they  would  be  able  to  create.  The  majority  of 
men  only  occupy  themselves  with  the  thoughts  that  come 
into  their  mind  without  their  bidding ;  they  are  instru- 
ments or  "  mediums  "  through  which  the  universal  principle 
of  mind  thinks,  but  they  are  unable  to  originate  a  thought, 
much  less  to  project  it  into  objectivity  through  the  power 
of  the  will.  He  who  has  gained  the  power  to  hold  on  to  a 
thought  may  project  it  upon  another,  and  the  process  will 
be  facilitated  if  the  "  receiver  "  is  in  a  passive  state  of  sleep, 
hypnotism,  or  somnambulism.  The  expression  "  sugges- 
tion "  is  in  such  cases  entirely  inappropriate  to  describe  what 
takes  place  ;  "  Induction  "  would  be  more  appropriate  ; 
for  the  passive  person  not  merely  acts  upon  the  suggestion 
of  his  "  magnetizer,"  but  his  will  becomes  a  helpless  instru- 
ment through  which  the  thoughts  of  the  former  are  induced 
to  act  upon  the  subjective  or  objective  plane. 


INDUCTION.  71 

We  usually  look  upon  a  thing  as  real  if  it  is  seen  alike  by 
several  persons,  while  if  only  one  person  professes  to  see  it, 
it  being  invisible  to  others,  we  may  call  it  illusive ;  but  all 
impressions  produce  a  certain  state  of  the  mind,  and  a 
person  must  be  in  a  condition — or  state  of  mind — to  enter 
into  a  relation  with  that  state  which  the  impression 
produces.  All  persons  being  in  the  same  state  of  mind, 
and  receiving  the  same  impression,  will  perceive  the  same 
thing,  but  if  their  states  differ,  their  perceptions  will  differ, 
although  the  impression  coming  to  their  consciousness  will 
be  the  same.  A  horse  or  a  lion  may  be  seen  alike  by 
everyone  "/ho  has  his  normal  senses  developed  ;  because 
all  men  having  normal  human  senses,  may  be  in  the  same 
mental  state,  but  if  one  is  excited  by  fear,  or  has  his 
attention  otherwise  absorbed,  his  mental  state  will  change 
and  his  perception  will  differ  from  that  of  others.  A 
drunkard  in  a  state  of  delirium  tremens  may  believe  to  see 
worms  and  snakes  crawling  over  his  body.  His  experience 
tells  him  that  they  have  no  external  existence.  Neverthe- 
less they  are  horrible  realities  to  him,  and  he  seeks  to  rid 
himself  of  their  presence.  They  really  exist  for  him  as  the 
products  of  his  own  mental  condition,  but  they  do  not 
exist  for  others  who  do  not  share  that  condition.  But  if 
others  were  to  enter  the  same  state  they  would  see  the 
same  things,  and  he  who  sees  them  can  make  others  see 
them,  provided  he  is  able  to  communicate  to  them  his  own 
consciousness — that  is  to  say,  his  own  mental  state. 

Our  perceptions  therefore  differ — not  only  in  propor- 
tion as  the  impressions  coming  from  the  objects  of  our 
perception  differ —  but  also  according  to  our  capacity  to 
receive  such  impressions,  or  according  to  our  own  mental 
states.  If  we  could  develop  a  new  sense  we  would  believe 
to  be  in  a  new  world,  and  if  our  capacity  to  receive  im- 
pressions were  restricted  to  only  one  sense,  we  would  only 
be  able  to  conceive  of  that  which  could  become  manifest 
to  us  through  that  sense  and  the  world  which  we  could 
perceive  would  be  very  limited.  Let  us  suppose  the 
existence  of  a  being  whose  mode  of  perception  were 
entirely  different  from  our  own,  and  who  could  enter  into 
only  one  state  of  consciousness  ;  for  instance,  that  of  hate. 
Having  all  his  consciousness  concentrated  into  his  guid- 
ing passion,  he  could  become  aware  of  nothing  else  but  of 
hate.  Such  a  "god  of  hate,"  incapable  of  entering  into 


72  MENTAL  STATES. 

any  other  mental  state,  could  perceive  no  other  states  but 
those  corresponding  with  his  own.  To  such  a  being  the 
whole  world  would  be  dark  and  void,  our  oceans  and 
mountains,  our  forests  and  rivers,  would  have  no  existence 
for  him  ;  but  wherever  a  man  or  an  animal  would  burn  with 
hate,  there  would  be  perhaps  a  lurid  glow  perceivable  by 
him  through  the  darkness,  which  would  attract  his  atten- 
tion and  attract  him,  and  on  his  approach  that  glow  may 
burst  into  a  flame  in  which  the  individual  from  whom  it 
proceeded  may  be  consumed.  Any  other  mental  state  or 
passion  may  serve  for  a  similar  illustration.  Hate 
attracts  hate,  and  Love  attracts  love,  and  a  person  full  of 
hate  is  as  incapable  to  love  as  a  being  full  of  love  is  inca- 
pable to  hate  ;  both  are  mental  states,  which,  after  a  person 
has  fully  entered  them,  cannot  be  changed  at  will. 

Man  is  that  what  he  really  wills.  His  whole  being  is 
nothing  else  but  the  ultimate  product  of  a  will  acting  in 
him  ;  not  of  his  imaginary  will,  but  of  the  real  will,  which  is 
one  and  divine. 

The  Bhagawad  Gita  says  :  "  Those  that  are  born  under 
an  evil  destiny"  (having  acquired  evil  tendencies  by  their 
conduct  in  former  lives)  ''know  not  what  it  is  to  proceed 
in  virtue  or  to  recede  from  vice  ;  nor  is  purity,  veracity, 
or  the  practice  of  morality  to  be  found  in  them.  They 
say  the  world  is  without  beginning  and  without  end,  and 
without  an  Ishwar,  that  all  things  are  conceived  in  the 
junction  of  the  senses,  and  that  attraction  is  the  only 
cause."  * 

Those  who  believe  that  everything  exists  in  conse- 
quence of  the  attraction  of  two  principles,  forget  that  there 
could  be  no  attraction  if  there  were  not  some  cause  that 
produces  that  attraction,  and  that  the  attraction  would 
cease  as  soon  as  the  cause  that  produced  it  would  cease  to 
exist.  They  are  the  deluded  followers  of  a  doctrine 
which  they  themselves  cannot  seriously  believe.  They 
agree  that  out  of  nothing  nothing  can  come,  and 
yet  they  believe  that  the  power  of  attraction  was 
caused  by  nothing,  and  that  it  continues  to  exist  without  a 
cause.  They  are  the  followers  of  the  absurd  Two  which 
has  no  real  existence,  because  the  eternal  One  divided  into 
two  parts  would  not  become  two  Ones  but  the  two  halves 

*  Bhagawad  Gita,  L.  xvi. 


THE   WILL.  73 

of  a  divided  One.  One  is  the  number  of  Unity,  and  Two 
is  Division  \  the  One  divided  into  two  ceases  to  exist  as  a 
One,  and  nothing  new  is  thereby  produced.  If  the  plan 
for  the  construction  of  the  world  had  been  made  according 
to  the  ideas  of  the  followers  of  Dualism,  nothing  could 
have  come  into  existence  that  did  not  already  exist  at  a 
time  when  nothing  existed,  because  action  and  reaction,  if 
any  existed,  would  have  been  of  equal  power,  and  there 
could  be  no  progressing  of  anything  existing  at  present. 
If  Ormuzd  (the  principle  of  good)  were  of  equal  power 
with  Ahriman  (the  principle  of  evil)  there  would  be  an 
end  to  all  progression,  and  the  state  of  the  world  from 
all  eternity  would  have  been  the  same  ;  but  behind  Ormuzd 
and  Ahriman  is  the  nameless  and  invisible  fire,  the  law  of 
evolution,  and  Ormuzd  continually  conquers  Ahriman  by 
the  inherent  power  of  good.  If  the  Parsi  worships  the  fire, 
he  worships  the  invisible  power  of  Good.  The  visible  fire 
and  the  visible  sun  are  the  symbols  which  represent  to 
him  the  invisible  power  and  spiritual  sun,  and  it  would  be 
difficult  to  find  any  symbols  in  nature  more  fit  to  represent 
the  infinite  power  of  good  and  light,  by  which  the  dark 
power  of  evil  will  be  fully  conquered  in  the  end. 

Whatever  this  power  of  good  may  be,  it  is  beyond  the 
capacity  of  finite  man  to  give  it  an  appropriate  name,  or  to 
describe  it,  because  it  is  beyond  the  comprehension  of 
mortal  man.  It  has  been  called  "  God?  and  as  such  it 
has  "  many  faces,"  because  its  aspect  differs  according  to 
the  standpoint  from  which  we  behold  it.  It  is  the  Supreme 
cause,  from  which  everything  comes  into  existence  ;  it  must 
be  absolute  consciousness,  wisdom  and  power,  love,  intelli- 
gence and  life,  because  these  attributes  exist  in  its  mani- 
festations, and  could  not  have  come  into  existence  without 
it.  It  has  been  called  Space,  because  everything  exists  in 
space,  but  space  itself  is  incomprehensible  to  us,  although 
we  exist  in  it  and  are  surrounded  by  it.  Space  is  a  term 
which  has  no  meaning,  unless  it  means  extension,  and  ex- 
tension is  an  attribute  of  Matter,  but  matter  cannot  exist 
without  Motion,  and  the  motion  of  matter  is  caused  by  the 
Law.  Space,  Matter  and  Motion  in  the  absolute  are  in- 
comprehensible to  us,  because  man  being  a  relative  being 
can  only  comprehend  that  to  which  he  stands  in  relation. 
Being  bound  to  a  form  he  can  only  know  that  which  exists 
relatively  to  form. 


74  GOD. 

The  Absolute,  independent  of  relations  and  conditions,  is 
the  original  cause  of  all  manifestations  of  power.  An 
attempt  to  describe  it  would  be  equivalent  with  an  attempt 
to  describe  something  which  has  no  attributes,  or  of  whose 
attributes  we  can  form  no  conception.  When  Gautama 
Buddha  was  asked  to  describe  the  supreme  source  of  all 
beings,  he  remained  silent,  because  those  who  have  reached 
a  state  in  which  they  can  realize  what  it  is,  have  no  words 
to  describe  it,*  and  those  who  cannot  realize  it  would  not 
be  able  to  comprehend  the  description.  To  describe 
the  absolute  we  must  invest  it  with  comprehensible 
attributes,  and  it  then  ceases  to  be  The  Absolute  and 
becomes  relative.  Therefore  all  theological  discussions 
about  the  nature  of  "God  "  are  useless,  because  "God  "  has 
no  natural  attributes,  but  Nature  is  His  manifestation. 
If  we  use  the  word  "  God  "  in  its  legitimate  meaning,  as 
"  Good?  then  to  deny  the  existence  of  God  is  an  absurdity, 
equivalent  to  denying  one's  own  existence,  because  all 
existence  can  be  nothing  else  but  a  manifestation  of  life,  as 
"  Good."  To  declare  to  possess  an  intellectual  knowledge 
of  God  is  equally  absurd,  because  we  cannot  know  any- 
thing of  which  we  cannot  conceive.  He  can  only  be 
spiritually  known,  but  not  scientifically  described,  and  the 
fight  between  so-called  Deists  and  Atheists  is  a  mere 
quarrel  about  words  which  have  no  definite  meaning. 
Every  man  is  himself  a  manifestation  of  God,  and  as  each 
man's  character  differs  from  that  of  every  other,  so  each 
man's  idea  of  God  differs  from  that  of  the  rest,  and  each 
one  has  a  God  (an  ideal)  of  his  own  ;  only  when  they  all 
attain  the  same,  the  highest  ideal,  will  they  all  have  the 
same  God. 

To  him  who  does  not  believe  in  the  power  of  Good,  the 
power  of  Good  does  not  exist,  and  its  existence  cannot  be 
demonstrated  to  him.  To  him  who  feels  the  presence  of 
Good,  Good  exists,  and  to  him  its  existence  cannot  be 
disputed  away.  The  ignorant  cannot  be  made  to  realize 
the  existence  of  knowledge  unless  he  becomes  knowing  ; 
those  who  know  cannot  have  their  knowledge  reasoned 
away  unless  they  forget  what  they  know.  The  caricatures 
of  gods  set  up  by  the  various  churches  as  representations 
of  the  only  true  God  are  merely  attempts  to  describe  that 
which  cannot  be  described.  As  every  man  has  a  highest 


2  Corinth,  xii.  4. 


ABSOLUTE  GOOD.  75 

ideal  (a  god)  of  his  own,  which  is  a  symbol  of  his  aspir- 
ations, so  every  church  has  its  peculiar  god,  who  is  an  out- 
growth or  a  product  of  evolution  of  the  ideal  necessities  of 
that  collective  body  called  a  church.  They  are  all  true 
gods  to  them,  because  they  answer  their  needs,  and  as  the 
requirements  of  the  church  change,  so  change  their  gods ; 
old  gods  are  discarded  and  new  ones  put  into  their  places. 
The  god  of  the  Christian  differs  from  that  of  the  Jews,  and 
the  Christian  god  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  very  different 
from  the  one  that  lived  at  the  time  of  Torquemada  and 
Peter  Arbues,  and  was  pleased  with  torture  and  Autos-da- 
Fe.  As  long  as  men  are  imperfect  their  gods  will  be  im- 
perfect ;  as  they  become  more  perfect  their  gods  will  grow 
in  perfection,  and  when  all  men  are  equally  perfect  they 
will  all  have  the  same  perfect  "  God,"  the  same  highest 
spiritual  ideal  and  the  same  universal  reality,  recognized 
alike  by  science  and  by  religion ;  because  there  can  be 
only  one  supreme  ideal,  one  absolute  Truth,  whose  reali- 
zation is  Wisdom,  whose  manifestation  is  power  expressed 
in  Nature,  and  whose  most  perfect  production  is  ideal 
Man. 

There  are  seven  steps  on  the  ladder,  representing  the 
religious  development  of  mankind  :  On  the  first  stage  man 
resembles  an  animal,  conscious  only  of  his  instincts  and 
bodily  desires,  without  any  conception  of  the  divine  ele- 
ment. On  the  second  he  begins  to  have  a  presentiment 
of  the  existence  of  something  higher.  On  the  third  he 
begins  to  seek  for  that  higher  element,  but  his  lower  ele- 
ments are  still  preponderating  over  the  higher  aspirations. 
On  the  fourth  his  lower  and  higher  desires  are  counter- 
balancing each  other.  At  times  he  seeks  for  the  higher, 
at  other  times  he  is  again  attracted  to  the  lower.  On  the 
fifth  he  anxiously  seeks  for  the  divine,  but  seeking  it  in 
the  external  he  cannot  find  it.  He  then  begins  to  seek  for 
it  within  himself.  On  the  sixth  he  finds  the  divine  element 
within  himself  and  develops  spiritual  self-consciousness, 
which  on  the  seventh  grows  into  self-knowledge.  Having 
arrived  at  the  sixth,  his  spiritual  senses  begin  to  become 
alive  and  active,  and  he  will  then  be  able  to  recognize  the 
presence  of  other  spiritual  entities,  existing  on  the  same 
plane.  His  will  then  becomes  free  from  every  selfish 
desire,  his  thoughts  become  obedient  to  his  will,  his  word 
becomes  an  act,  and  he  may  then  rightfully  be  called  an 
Adept. 


A 


CHAPTER  III. 

FORM. 
"  The  Universe  is  a  thought  of  God." — Paracelsus. 

ACCORDING  to  Plato  the  primordial  essence  is  an  emanation 
of  the  Demiurgic  Mind,  which  contains  from  eternity  the 
idea  of  the  natural  world  within  itself,  and  which  idea  He 
;  produces  out  of  Himself  by  the  power  of  His  will.  This 
doctrine  seems  to  be  almost  as  old  as  the  existence  of 
reasoning  man  on  this  globe.  It  contains  essentially  the 
same  truth  which  has  been  taught  by  the  ancient  Rishis, 
and  has  been  expressed — although,  perhaps,  in  other  terms 
—by  the  deepest  thinkers  of  all  ages,  apparently  from  the 
first  planetary  spirit,  that  made  his  appearance  on  this 
earth,  down  to  the  modern  philosophers  who  teach  that  the 
world  is  a  product  of  ideation  and  will,*  although  the  lat- 
ter seem  to  forget  that  will  and  ideation  cannot  exist 
independently  of  something  that  wills  and  thinks,  but  are 
the  functions  of  some  unknown  principle  or  Cause. 

This  One  unknown  cause  comes  into  knowable  existence 
when  the  unmanifested  Absolute  manifesting  itself  assumes 
a  threefold  aspect.  Upon  this  truth  is  based  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity*  which  we  find  represented  in  the  most 
ancient  religious  systems  of  the  East  as  well  as  in  Christian 
symbolism,  and  without  which  even  so-called  "  rational- 
istic science  "  becomes  irrational  ;  because  if  the  "  mate- 
rialist" (correctly)  states  that  there  can  be  no  matter 
without  motion  and  no  motion  without  matter,  he  must — 
to  remain  logical — add  that  the  existence  of  matter  and 
the  activity  of  motion  must  have  some  cause.  He  may  not 
know  that  cause,  but  the  cause  nevertheless  is  there,  even 
if  we  know  nothing  at  all  about  it,  except  that  it  is.  The 

*  Schopenhauer  :  «  Die  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung." 


1RINI7Y.  77 

trinity  of  rational  science  is  therefore  Action,  Reaction,  and 
Causation,  or,  in  other  words,  Matter,  Motion,  and  Cause 
(Potency). 

The  great  Christian  Mystic,  Jacob  Boehme,  describes  the 
Great  First  Cause  as  a  trinity  of  will,  thought,  and  action. 
His  doctrine  corresponds  to  that  which  is  taught  in  the 
East,  regarding  the  three  emanations  of  Brahm,  and  of 
which  that  German  shoemaker  could  at  that  time  have 
hardly  known  anything,  if  he  had  not  been  an  Illuminate. 
He  says,  in  his  book  on  "  The  Three  Principles?  that  by 
the  activity  of  the  Will-Fire  at  the  Centre  the  eternal  con- 
sciousness of  the  latter  was  reflected  in  Space  as  in  a  mirror, 
and  from  this  activity  Light  and  Life  were  born.  He  then 
describes,  how  by  the  action  radiating  from  the  incompre- 
hensible centre,  radiating  into  the  element  of  Matter,  and 
the  subsequent  reaction  from  the  periphery  toward  the 
centre,  rotation,  mixture  of  the  essential  substances  and 
complexedness  were  caused,  and  how  at  last  the  Ether,  the 
world  of  forms,  came  into  existence,  and  grew  into  material 
density.  Thus  the  will  of  the  Father  (Love)  sent  out  the 
Son  (Life),  and  through  that  action  the  power  of  the  Father 
in  the  Son  (Light),  or  the  "  Holy  Ghost "  became  manifest, 
and  its  manifestation  is  the  visible  and  invisible  universe 
in  one,  with  all  its  suns,  stars,  planets,  their  forms  and 
inhabitants,  with  all  the  angels  and  demons,  devas,  ele- 
mentals,  men  and  animals,  or  in  other  words,  with  all  the 
energies  and  powers  and  forms  of  the  visible  and  invisible 
side  of  nature. 

This  trinity  manifests  itself  on  three  different  planes  or 
modes  of  action,  that  have  been  termed  Matter,  Soul,  and 
Spirit,  or,  according  to  the  symbolism  of  ancient  occult 
science,  Earth,  Water,  and  Fire.  The  One  becomes 
manifest  in  the  Three,  but  the  Three  is  a  whole  and  does 
not  consist  of  three  parts,  of  which  one  comes  into  suc- 
cession after  another,  it  springs  into  existence  at  once. 
Reaction  cannot  exist  without  Action,  and  both  are  due  to 
a  co-existing  Cause.  The  Father  does  not  become  a 
Father  before  the  arrival  of  the  Son,  and  that  which  pro- 
duces the  Son  is  the  power  resting  in  the  Father,  his  Will 
manifesting  itself  as  the  Spirit  pervading  all  nature.  There 
is  no  motion  without  matter  or  without  cause  ;  no  cause 
without  an  effect  and  without  something  upon  which  an 
effect  is  produced.  There  can  be  no  extension  and  dur- 


78  OBJECTIFIED  SPACE. 

ation  or  "  Space  "  without  matter  or  motion,  and  no  form 
without  space.  Absolute  space  is  invisible,  and  we  cannot 
conceive  of  its  form.  We  cannot  imagine  it  to  be  without 
any  limits,  nor  can  we  conceive  of  any  limits  to  it  with  no 
space  beyond  it ;  relative  space  is  limited  and  exists  as  a 
form.  There  can  be  no  empty  space,  because  "  space  " 
means  extension,  and  we  cannot  conceive  of  "nothing," 
nor  can  "  nothing  "  have  an  extension.  Forms  are — so  to 
say — space  which  has  been  rendered  objective,  crystalized 
into  some  shape  which  may  or  may  not  be  perceptible  to 
our  senses,  and  no  form  can  exist  but  in  space. 

These  forms  come  into  existence  by  the  action  of  the 
three  elements,  fire,  Water  and  Earth,  neither  one  of 
which  exists  without  the  other  two  ;  because  they  are  not 
three  different  things  per  se,  but  only  three  aspects  of  the 
eternal  One. 

Spirit  or  "  Fire "  is  an  immaterial,  formless,  and 
universal  element.  It  is  the  matrix  in  which  everything 
was  contained  before  it  was  thrown  into  objectivity  by  the 
awakening  of  its  Will.  It  is  the  Will  itself;  the  source  of 
all  power  and  the  substance  of  which  all  is  made.  "  God 
is  a  fire,  to  which  none  can  approach  except  through  the 
Son."  The  dark  fire  cannot  be  known  to  man  except 
through  the  light  which  emanates  from  it.  Life  would  never 
be  known,  unless  it  becomes  manifest,  and  to  become 
manifest,  a  form  is  required.  No  magical  process  has  ever 
been  accomplished  without  the  magic  fire,  and  to  learn  to 
know  the  true  nature  of  that  fire  is  the  great  desideratum 
of  every  occultist. 

Soul  or  "  Water  "  or  "  Light "  is  a  semi-material  element. 
It  is  the  organizing  element  of  corporeal  forms.  The  soul 
of  microcosmic  man  corresponds  to  the  soul  of  the  macro- 
cosm. It  is  the  playground  of  the  elemental  forces  of  nature, 
existing  in  the  astral  plane.  It  penetrates  and  surrounds 
the  planets  as  it  surrounds  and  penetrates  the  bodies  of 
men  and  animals  and  all  other  bodies  and  forms,  and  all 
material  forms  are — so  to  say — only  "  materialized  souls," 
that  will  perish  after  the  light  has  been  extracted  from 
them.  The  light  is  the  redeemer  from  darkness  on  every 
plane  of  existence.  It  comes  from  the  fire  ;  but  it  is  not 
itself  the  fire.  It  is  a  principle  in  itself,  and  its  attributes 
are  different  from  those  of  the  fire.  It  is  itself  the  life  of 
everything. 


ELEMENTS.  79 

Matter  or  "  Earth "  is  an  invisible  material  element 
pervading  all  space.  Condensed  by  the  organizing  power 
of  the  soul,  it  clothes  the  forms  of  the  latter  and  renders 
them  visible  on  the  physical  plane.  But  not  all  forms  are 
visible  to  the  physical  sense  of  sight,  the  material  forms 
which  we  see  are  not  the  only  forms  in  existence.  The 
invisible  world,  hidden  in  the  visible  one,  could  be  dis- 
covered by  man  if  he  were  able  to  draw  the  veil  from  matter, 
because  within  the  material  form  resides  the  invisible 
element  of  which  the  visible  form  is  only  the  external 
expression. 

From  the  interaction  of  the  three  primordial  elements, 
Spirit,  Soul  and  Matter,  four  compound  principles  be- 
come manifest,  and  these  four  added  to  the  three  former 
represent  seven  principles.  This  sevenfold  division  in  the 
constitution  of  the  Macrocosmos  and  Microcosmos  was 
known  to  the  ancient  sages  of  the  .East  as  well  as  to 
Western  Adepts,  such  as  Paracelsus  and  others,  and  has 
recently  been  brought  prominently  to  the  notice  of  the 
public  by  the  teachings  of  the  Eastern  Adepts. 

As  a  matter  of  course,  however,  all  such  divisions  are 
arbitrary,  for  man  is  an  undivided  whole,  and  we  may  divide 
his  constitution  in  as  many  parts  as  we  please  for  the 
purpose  of  facilitating  this  study.  We  may  look  upon  him 
as  a  unity  or  in  a  dual  aspect  as  a  manifestation  of  Spirit  ' 
acting  in  Matter,  or  as  a  trinity  of  Spirit,  Body  and  Soul, 
or  in  his  fourfold  aspect  as  a  representation  of  four  states 
of  consciousness  ;  as  a  full  accord  of  five  harmonious 
powers,  as  a 'compound  of  four  elements  joined  to  the 
fifth,  the  quintessence  of  all  things,  as  a  revelation  of  six 
visible  powers  emanating  from  a  seventh  but  invisible 
centre,  etc.  The  sevenfold  classification  recommends 
itself  on  account  of  its  simplicity,  and  because  it  can  be 
easily  seen  to  harmonize  with  the  customary  threefold 
classification. 

Jacob  Boehme  teaches  that  of  these  seven  principles  or 
natural  qualities,  the  first  and  the  seventh  are  one,  and 
refer  to  the  Father  ;  the  second  and  sixth  as  one  refer  to 
the  Son,  and  likewise  the  third  and  fifth  to  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

It  has  been  stated  as  follows  : 

t.  A — The  element   of  Matter  A'kdsa,  represented 
by  "  Earth." 


8o  SEVEN  PRINCIPLES. 

2.  AB. — A  combination  of  Matter  and  Soul,  known 

as  the  Astral  Body,  a  mixture  of  "  Earth  and 
Water." 

3.  B. — The  Soul,  known   as  the    Perisprit,  or   the 

animal  principle  in  man,  represented  by  "  Water." 

4.  ABC. — The   Essence   of  Life,    a   combination  of 

Matter,  Soul,  and  Spirit,    "  Earth,   Water,  and 
Fire." 

5.  AC. — The  Mind,  a  combination   of  Matter  and 

Spirit,  or  "  Earth  and   Fire "  (the  principle  of 
Intellectuality). 

6.  BC. — The  Spiritual  Soul,  a  combination  of  Soul 

and   pure    Spirit,    or    "  Water   and    Fire "    (the 
principle  of  Spiritual  Intelligence). 

7.  C. — Pure  Spirit  or  "  Fire,"  the  incomprehensible 

First  Great  Cause.* 

The  division  adopted  by  Paracelsus  and  in  "  Esoteric 
Buddhism  "  is  identical  with  the  above,  with  the  exception 
that  the  Jiva  or  Vitality  is  counted  as  the  second,  and  the 
Astral  body  as  the  third  principle  ;  as  follows  : — i.  The 
physical  body  (Stoolasariram).  2.  Vitality  (Mumia).  3. 
Astral  Body  (Sidereal  body).  4.  Animal  Soul.  5.  Intel- 
lectual Soul.  6.  Spiritual  Soul.  7.  Spirit. 

It  is  said  that  this  division  was  also  known  to  the 
ancient  Jews,  and  that  the  Hebrew  Alphabet,  consisting  of 
22  letters,  was  made  with  reference  to  it ;  because  the 
three  in  seven  states  produces  twelve  symbols,  and  3+7 

+     12    =    22. 

Jacob  Boehme  describes  the  action  of  these  seven 
principles  in  his  own  way.  He  says  : 

"  When  the  light  was  born  at  the  Centre,  the  (spiritual) 
Sun,  and  reacted  upon  the  central  fire,  a  terrible  battle 
ensued,  causing  an  igneous  eruption,  and  from  the  sun 
proceeded  a  flash  of  storm  and  fire,  an  element,  called 
Mars.  Taken  captive  by  the  light,  it  assumed  a  place 
and  continues  to  agitate  all  nature.  The  light,  having 
been  enchained  by  Mars,  proceeded  further  in  the  rigidity 

*  The  Sanscrit  terms  for  the  seven  principles  are :  I ,  Pracriti  ; 
2,  Lingasariram ;  3,  Kamarupa ;  4,  Jiva ;  5,  Manas  ;  6,  Buddhi  ; 
7,  Atma  (Param-Atma,  Brahmam,  Parabrahm). — See  "  Five  years  of 
Theosophy,"  p.  153. 


PLANE  TAR  Y  PO  WERS.  8 1 

of  the  element  of  matter  (Saturn),  and  became  corporeal 
in  forms. 

"  Above  the  element  called  Jiipiter,  in  the  adstringent 
anguish  of  the  whole  body  of  this  solar  system,  the  Sun 
was  not  powerful  enough  to  mitigate  the  horror,  and  there 
arose  Saturn,  the  element,  opposite  to  meekness,  produ- 
cing rigidity.  The  Sun  is  the  heart  of  Nature,  the  Centre 
of  Life ;  Saturn  represents  corporeal  nature  or  Matter. 
Without  the  action  of  the  Life  coming  from  the  Sun  upon 
Matter,  there  would  be  no  production  of  forms.  Venus 
is  the  daughter  of  the  Sun.  She  rises  out  of  the  water  of 
the  universe,  penetrates  the  hard  element  of  matter  and 
enkindles  Love.  Mercury  (like  the  others,  an  invisible 
element)  represents  the  principle  of  sound,  or  the  Word, 
by  whose  activity  the  sleeping  germs  of  everything  are 
awakened  to  life.  Mercury  is  continually  impregnated  by 
the  substance  of  the  Sun.  In  it  is  found  the  knowledge  of 
that  which  existed  before  the  light  had  penetrated  into  the 
solar  centre.  The  Moon  was  produced  directly  from  the 
Sun  at  the  time  of  his  becoming  material.  The  Moon  is 
the  spouse  of  the  Sun.  She  is  the  Eve,  who  was  made  out 
of  a  part  of  Adam,  while  the  latter  was  asleep." 

In  this  classification  The  Sun  represents  Wisdom,  the 
Moon,  Imagination,  Mercury,  the  Mind  substance,  Venus, 
the  Astral  Body,  Mars,  the  principle  of  Life,  Jupiter,  the 
element  of  Power,  Saturn,  primordial  Matter ;  but  the 
significations  of  these  planets  differ  according  to  the  aspects 
we  take  of  them. 

All  forms  are  the  expression  of  either  one  or  more  of 
these  elementary  principles,  and  exist  as  long  as  their 
respective  principles  are  active  in  them.  They  are  not 
necessarily  visible,  because  their  visibility  depends  on 
their  power  to  reflect  light.  Invisible  gases  may  be  solidi- 
fied by  pressure  and  cold,  and  rendered  visible  and  tangible, 
and  the  most  solid  substances  may  be  made  invisible  and 
intangible  by  the  application  of  heat.  The  products  of 
cosmic  thought  are  not  all  sufficiently  materialized  to  be 
visible  to  the  physical  eye,  and  in  reality  we  see  only  a 
very  small  part  of  their  sum.  No  one  doubts  that  there  is 
an  immense  amount  of  invisible  matter  in  the  universe, 
whether  cometary  or  otherwise,  and  every  improvement  in 
the  manufacture  of  optic  instruments  brings  new  realms  of 
forms  and  life  to  our  perception. 


82  INVISIBILITY. 

Each  transformation  of  activity  gives  rise  to  changes  of 
forms,  and  may  bring  new  forms  into  existence.  Solid  ice 
may  be  transformed  into  invisible  vapor,  and  condensed 
again  into  a  tangible  form.  The  more  matter  expands  and 
the  more  its  motion  is  made  active,  the  more  will  it  escape 
the  perception  of  the  physical  senses,  but  its  expansion 
does  not  necessarily  render  it  less  powerful  to  act.  Steam 
is  more  powerful  than  water,  and  overheated  to  a  certain 
degree  it  evolves  electricity,  and  may  become  very  des- 
tructive. The  more  the  element  of  matter  is  condensed, 
the  more  inert  does  it  appear ;  the  more  it  expands,  the 
farther  will  its  sphere  of  activity  reach. 

All  bodies  have  their  invisible  spheres.  Their  visible 
spheres  are  limited  by  the  periphery  of  their  visible  forms  ; 
their  invisible  spheres  extend  farther  into  space.  Their 
spheres  cannot  be  always  detected  by  physical  instruments, 
but  they  nevertheless  exist,  and  under  certain  conditions 
their  existence  can  be  proved  to  the  senses.  The  sphere 
of  an  odoriferous  body  can  be  perceived  by  the  organ  of 
smell,  the  sphere  of  a  magnet  by  the  approach  of  iron,  the 
sphere  of  a  man  or  an  animal  by  that  most  delicate  of  all 
instruments,  the  abnormally  sensitive  brain. 

These  spheres  are  the  magnetic,  coloric,  odic,  or  lumi- 
nous auras  and  emanations  belonging  to  every  object  in 
space.  Such  an  emanation  may  sometimes  be  seen  as  the 
Aurora  Borealis  in  the  polar  regions  of  our  planet,  or  as 
the  photosphere  of  the  sun  during  an  eclipse.  The 
"  glory  "  around  the  head  of  a  saint  is  no  poetical  fiction, 
no  more  than  the  sphere  of  light  radiating  from  a  precious 
stone.  As  each  sun  has  its  system  of  planets  revolving 
around  it,  so  each  body  is  surrounded  by  smaller 
centres  of  energy  evolving  from  the  common  centre,  and 
partaking  of  the  attributes  of  that  centre.  Copper,  Carbon, 
and  Arsenic,  for  instance,  send  out  auras  of  red ;  Lead 
and  Sulphur  emit  blue  colors  ;  Gold,  Silver  and  Antimony, 
green  ;  and  Iron  emits  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow.  Plants, 
animals,  and  men  emit  similar  colors  according  to  their 
characteristics ;  persons  of  a  high  and  spiritual  character 
have  beautiful  auras  of  white  and  blue,  gold  and  green,  in 
various  tints  ;  while  low  natures  emit  principally  dark  red 
emanations, which  in  brutal  and  vulgar  or  villainous  persons 
darken  almost  to  black,  and  the  collective  auras  of  bodies 
of  men  or  plants  or  animals,  of  cities  and  countries,  cor- 


SPHERES  AND  EMANATIONS.  83 

respond  to  their  predominant  characteristics,  so  that  a 
person  whose  sense  of  perception  is  sufficiently  developed 
may  see  the  state  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  development 
of  a  place  or  a  country  by  observing  the  sphere  of  its 
emanations. 

These  spheres  expand  from  the  centre,  and  their  periphery 
grows  in  proportion  to  the  intensity  of  the  energy  acting 
within  the  centre.  Who  can  measure  the  extent  of  the 
sphere  of  thought  and  the  depth  of  the  regions  to  which  it 
may  penetrate,  who  can  determine  the  distance  to  which 
the  power  of  Will  and  Love  and  spiritual  Perception  will 
act  ?  We  know  the  sphere  of  a  rose  by  the  odor  that 
proceeds  from  the  latter  if  we  have  the  power  to  smell,  we 
know  the  character  of  the  mind  of  a  man  if  we  enter  the 
sphere  of  his  thoughts,  provided  that  our  inner  senses  are 
sufficiently  developed  to  become  conscious  of  the  state  of 
his  mind. 

The  quality  of  psychic  emanations  depends  on  the  state 
of  activity  of  the  centre  from  which  they  originate,  for 
each  thing  and  each  being  is  tinctured  with  that  particular 
principle  which  exists  at  the  invisible  centre,  and  from  this 
centre  receives  the  form  of  its  own  character  or  attributes. 
They  are  symbols  of  the  states  of  the  soul  of  each  form, 
they  indicate  the  state  of  the  emotions.  Each  emotion 
corresponds  to  a  certain  color  :  Love  corresponds  to  blue, 
Desire  to  red.  Benevolence  to  green,  and  these  colours 
may  induce  corresponding  emotions  in  other  souls, 
especially  if  the  emotional  element  is  guided  by  reason. 
Blue  has  a  soothing  effect,  and  may  tranquilize  a  maniac 
or  subdue  a  fever  ;  Red  excites  to  passion,  a  steer  may  be 
furious  at  the  sight  of  a  red  cloth,  and  an  unreasoning  mob 
become  infuriated  at  the  sight  of  blood.  This  chemistry 
of  the  soul  is  not  any  more  wonderful  than  the  facts  known 
in  physical  chemistry,  and  these  processes  take  place 
according  to  the  same  law  which  causes  Chloride  of  Silver 
to  turn  from  white  into  black  if  exposed  to  blue  or  white 
light,  while  ruby  red  or  yellow  light  leaves  it  unchanged. 

The  thoughts  of  the  Universal  Mind  expressed  in  matter 
on  any  plane,  comprise  all  the  forms  of  the  mineral, 
vegetable,  and  animal  kingdoms  on  Earth,  including  the 
bodies  and  souls  of  all  beings.  Their  physical  forms  are 
the  expressions  of  three  principles,  and  each  material  form 
contains  within  itself  its  ethereal  counterpart,  which  may, 


84  THE  CENTRE. 

under  certain  conditions,  separate  itself  from  the  more 
material  part,  or  be  extracted  therefrom  by  the  hands  of  an 
Adept.  These  astral  parts  may  be  corporified  and  be 
rendered  visible.  Actually  all  bodies,  even  the  most  solid 
rocks,  are  nothing  else  but  corporified  astral  appearances, 
whose  innermost  substance  is  the  fire  whose  light  is  their 
life.  Every  individual  being  is  a  flame  in  creation  whose 
light  differs  from  others  according  to  its  own  particular 
attributes. 

Astral  forms  continue  to  exist  for  a  while  after  the 
visible  bodies  to  which  they  belong  have  had  their  fire 
extinguished.  The  astral  corpses  of  the  dead  may  be  seen  by 
the  clairvoyant  hovering  over  the  graves,  bearing  the 
resemblance  of  the  once  living  man.  They  may  be  arti- 
fically  infused  with  life  and  with  a  borrowed  consciousness, 
and  made  use  of  in  the  practices  of  Necromancy  and 
Black  Magic,  or  be  attracted  to  "  spiritual  seances"  to 
represent  the  spirits  of  the  dead. 

There  are  persons  in  whom  this  principle — either  in 
consequence  of  constitutional  peculiarities  or  in  conse- 
quence of  disease — is  not  very  firmly  united  with  the 
physical  body,  and  may  become  separated  from  it  for  a 
short  period.*  Such  persons  are  suitable  "  mediums  "  for 
so-called  spirit-materializations,  their  ethereal  counter- 
parts may  appear  separated  from  their  bodies  and  assume 
the  visible  form  of  some  person  either  living  or  dead.  It 
receives  its  new  mask  by  the  unconscious  or  conscious 
thoughts  of  the  persons  present,  by  the  reflections  thrown 
out  from  their  memories  and  minds,  or  it  may  be  made  to 
represent  other  characters  by  influences  invisible  to  the 
physical  eye. 

As  the  brain  is  the  central  organ  for  the  circulation  of 
nerve-fluid,  and  as  the  heart  is  the  organ  for  the  circula- 
tion of  the  blood,  so  the  spleen  is  the  organ  from  which 
the  astral  elements  draw  their  vitality,  and  in  certain 
diseases,  where  the  action  of  the  spleen  is  impeded,  this 
"  double  "  of  a  person  may  involuntarily  separate  itself 
from  the  body.  It  is  nothing  very  unusual  that  a  sick 

*  This  intimate  relation  of  the  astral  form  and  the  physical  body  is 
often  illustrated  at  so-called  exposures  of  "  spiritual  mediums."  If  a 
materialized  form  is  soiled  by  ink  or  soot,  the  coloring  matter  will 
afterwards  be  found  on  the  corresponding  part  of  the  medium's  body, 
because,  when  the  astral  form  re-enters  that  body,  it  will  leave  the 
soiling  matter  on  the  corresponding  parts  of  the  latter. 


ASTRAL  FORMS.  85 

person  feels  "  as  if  he  were  not  himself"  or  as  if  another 
person  was  lying  in  the  same  bed  with  him,  and  that  he 
himself  were  that  other.  Such  cases  of  "  Doppelgaengers," 
Wraiths,  Apparitions,  Ghosts,  etc.,  caused  by  the  separa- 
tion of  the  Lingasariram  from  the  physical  form,  can  be 
found  in  many  works  treating  of  mystic  phenomena 
occurring  in  nature.* 

Usually  these  astral  forms  are  without  consciousness 
and  without  any  life  of  their  own  ;  but  they  may  be  made 
to  be  the  seat  of  life  and  consciousness,  by  withdrawing 
the  life  from  the  material  form  and  concentrating  it  into 
the  astral  body.  A  person  who  has  succeeded  in  doing 
this  may  step  out  of  his  physical  form  and  live  independent 
of  the  latter,  and  an  Adept  may  even  entirely  remain  out- 
side his  physical  body  and  continue  to  live  in  his  ethereal 
and  invisible  form.f 

The  forms  in  the  realm  of  Soul,  in  which  the  fourth 
principle  is  the  essential  element,  are  still  more  ethereal  and 
more  independent  of  a  definite  form.  This  will  not  seem 
incomprehensible,  if  we  remember  that  they  too  are  forms 
of  thought,  and  that  a  thought  or  an  idea  may  take  a 
defined  shape  or  may  remain  shapeless  and  undefined.  If 
we,  for  instance,  hear  the  word  "  animal,"  we  conceive  of 
a  living  being  of  some  shape  or  other,  but  give  our  con- 
ception no  definite  form ;  but  if  the  animal  is  described  as 
one  with  whose  form  we  are  acquainted,  the  picture  of  that 
form  will  come  to  the  consciousness  of  the  mind.  Con- 
centration of  thought  gives  shape  to  ideas  and  condenses 
the  formless  into  forms.  Purely  spiritual  or  abstract  ideas, 
such  as  love,  faith,  hope,  charity,  etc.,  have  no  shapes  and 
cannot  be  conceived  as  forms,  they  can  at  best  be  symbol- 
ized by  forms  which  are  made  to  guide  our  thoughts 
towards  the  formless  ideas  whose  attributes  they  are 
intended  to  bring  before  our  imagination. 

*  Adolphe  D'Assier  :  "  L'humanite  posthume." 

f  The  stories  of  fakirs  who  have  been  buried  alive  for  months  and 
resurrected  afterwards  might  here  be  used  as  illustration.  They  are  too 
well  known  to  need  repetition  in  this  place.  Moreover,  phenomena, 
however  well  attested  they  may  be,  can  never  stand  in  the  place  of 
knowledge;  they  furnish  no  explanation  of  the  mysterious  laws  of 
nature.  The  occurrence  of  phenomena  proves  nothing  but  that  they 
occur.  Real  knowledge  is  never  attained  by  the  observation  of  external 
phenomena,  it  can  only  be  attained  by  the  knowledge  of  self. 


86  SPIRITS. 

Among  the  ancients  it  was  customary  to  make  such 
personifications  of  impersonal  powers,  and  to  describe 
their  functions  in  symbols  and  allegories.  The  first 
Christians  adopted  that  system.  Modern  religionism 
believes  those  allegories  to  represent  dead  persons  and 
peoples,  and  knows  nothing  about  the  living  principles 
which  they  represent. 

As  there  are  three  elements  represented  in  the  three 
kingdoms  of  the  physical  plane,  so  there  are  three  king- 
doms of  Elementals  existing  on  the  astral  plane,  corres- 
ponding to  the  elements  of  fire,  water,  and  earth.  Indivi- 
dual forms  on  that  plane  may  often  make  their  presence 
felt  to  men  or  animals,  but  under  ordinary  circumstances 
they  cannot  be  seen.  They  may,  however,  be  seen  by  the 
clairvoyant,  and,  under  certain  conditions,  even  assume 
visible  and  tangible  shapes.  Their  bodies  are  of  an  elastic 
semi-material  essence,  ethereal  enough  so  as  not  to  be 
detected  by  the  physical  sight,  and  they  may  change  their 
forms  according  to  certain  laws.  Bulwer  Lytton  says  : 
"  Life  is  one  all-pervading  principle,  and  even  the  thing 
that  seems  to  die  and  putrefy  but  engenders  new  life  and 
changes  to  new  forms  of  matter."  Reasoning  then  by 
analogy — if  not  a  leaf,  if  not  a  drop  of  water,  but  is  no  less 
than  yonder  star — a  habitable  and  breathing  world — 
common  sense  would  suffice  to  teach  that  the  circumfluent 
Infinite,  which  you  call  space — the  boundless  Impalpable 
which  divides  the  earth  from  the  moon  and  stars — is  filled 
also  with  its  correspondent  and  appropriate  life." 

And  further  on  he  says  :  tf  In  the  drop  of  water  you  see 
animalculse  vary ;  how  vast  and  terrible  are  some  of  these 
monster-mites  as  compared  with  others.  Equally  so  with 
the  inhabitants  of  the  atmosphere.  Some  of  surpassing 
wisdom,  some  of  horrible  malignity,  some  hostile  as  fiends 
to  man,  others  gentle  as  messengers  between  Earth  and 
Heaven."  * 

Our  sceptical  age  is  accustomed  to  admire  in  such 
descriptions  the  "fancy"  of  the  writer,  never  suspecting 
that  they  were  intended  to  convey  a  truth ;  but  there  are 
many  witnesses  to  testify — if  it  were  necessary — that  such 
invisible  but  substantial  and  variously  shaped  beings  exist, 
and  that  they,  by  the  educated  will  of  man,  can  be  made 

*  Bulwer  Lytton  :  <«  Zanoni." 


ELEMENTAL  SPIRITS  OF  NATURE.  87 

conscious,  intelligent,  visible,  and  even  useful  to  man. 
This  assertion  is  supported  by  the  testimony  found  in  the 
writings  of  Rosicrucians,  Cabbalists,  Alchemists,  and 
Adepts,  as  well  as  in  the  ancient  books  of  wisdom  of  the 
East  and  in  the  Bible  of  the  Christians. 

Such  existences  are,  however,  not  necessarily  personal 
beings.  They  may  be  impersonal  forces,  acquiring  form, 
and  life,  and  consciousness  by  their  contact  with  man. 
The  Gnomes  and  Sylphes,  the  Undines  and  Salamanders, 
do  not  entirely  belong  to  the  realm  of  fable,  although  they 
may  be  something  very  different  of  what  the  ignorant 
believe  them  to  be.  How  insignificant  and  little  appears 
individual  man  in  the  Infinity  of  the  universe  !  and  yet 
there  is  only  a  comparatively  insignificant  part  of  the 
universe  revealed  to  him  by  the  senses.  Could  he  see  the 
worlds  within  worlds  above,  beneath,  and  everywhere, 
swarming  with  beings  whose  existence  he  does  not  suspect, 
while  they,  perhaps,  know  nothing  of  his  existence,  he 
would  be  overwhelmed  with  terror  and  seek  for  a  god  to 
protect  him  ;  and  yet  there  are  none  of  these  beings  higher 
or  as  powerful  as  the  spiritual  man  who  has  learned  to 
know  his  powers,  and  in  whom  his  own  god  has  awakened 
to  consciousness  and  strength.* 

The  beings  of  the  spiritual  plane  are  such  as  have  once 
been  men,  their  constitution  is  beyond  the  comprehension 
of  those  that  are  not  their  equals,  and  their  ethereal  forms 
in  a  state  of  perfection  we  cannot  conceive.  Having  out- 
grown the  necessity  of  residing  in  a  form  they  enter  the 
state  of  the  formless,  approaching  evermore  the  Universal 
Mind,  from  which  the  power  called  Man  emanated  at  the 
beginning.  We  may  look  upon  a  personal  man  as  a  single 
note  in  the  great  orchestra  composing  the  world,  and  upon 
a  Dhyan  Chohan  f  as  a  full  accord  or  a  compound  of 
notes  in  the  symphony  of  the  gods.  There  may  be  unhar- 
monious  compositions  of  notes  in  music,  and  there  are  evil 
spiritualities  as  there  is  darkness  in  contradistinction  to 
light,  because  a  high  grade  of  intelligence  may  be  used  for 
vile  purposes  ;  but  the  good  spirituality  cannot  be  con- 

*  Paracelsus  gives  detailed  descriptions  of  these  beings, 
t  Son  of  Wisdom  (Angel). 


88  SOUL  INDUCTION. 

quered  by  evil,  because  it  is  protected  by  wisdom,  which 
is  essentially  good,  and  of  which  evil  is  but  the  reverse. 

There  are  good  and  evil  spiritual  beings,  and  either  class 
may  possess  a  great  deal  of  knowledge  and  power ;  but 
only  the  good — that  is  to  say,  kind  and  benevolent  powers, 
can  be  considered  wise — because  wisdom  means  a  union 
of  knowledge  and  love,  from  which  the  highest  powers 
spring.  To  be  wise,  is  to  be  good  and  beautiful  and  true. 
Evil  spiritualities  may  be  very  strong,  but  they  cannot 
overcome  the  good  ones,  because  they  lack  wisdom,  and 
wisdom  is  itself  the  divine  will  of  God. 

What  is  a  spirit  ?  Nothing  else  but  a  thought  rendered 
alive  by  the  will ;  a  ray  of  light,  receiving  its  impulse  by  the 
fire  hidden  therein.  A  thought  without  will  is  unsubstantial, 
like  an  image  in  a  mirror ;  made  active  by  the  will,  it 
assumes  life,  substance  and  form.  We  all  are  spirits  as 
long  as  we  have  the  will ;  but  when  the  will  leaves  a  man, 
his  life  goes  with  it,  and  his  body,  the  shadow,  fades 
away. 

The  realm  of  the  Soul  is  the  realm  of  the  emotions. 
Emotions  are  not  merely  the  results  of  physiological 
processes  depending  on  causes  coming  from  the  physical 
plane,  but  they  belong  to  a  form  of  life  on  the  astral  plane, 
they  often  come  and  go  without  any  apparent  cause.  The 
state  of  the  weather,  or  circumstances  over  which  we  have 
no  control,  may  cause  certain  emotions  independently  of 
our  state  of  physical  health.  A  person  entering  a  room 
where  every  one  is  laughing  is  liable  to  participate  in  the 
common  emotion  without  knowing  the  cause  of  the  hilarity ; 
a  whole  crowd  may  be  swayed  by  the  intense  emotion  of  a 
speaker,  although  they  may  not  fully  understand  what  he 
says  ;  one  hysterical  woman  in  a  hospital  ward  may  create 
an  epidemic  of  hysteria  among  the  other  women,  and  a 
whole  congregation  may  become  excited  by  the  harangue 
of  an  emotional  exhorter,  no  matter  whether  his  language 
is  foolish  or  wise.  A  sudden  accumulation  of  emotion  or 
energy  on  the  astral  plane  may  kill  a  person  as  quickly  as 
a  sudden  explosion  of  powder.  We  hear  of  persons  who 
were  "  transfixed  by  terror"  or  "  paralyzed  by  fear."  In 
such  cases  the  astral  consciousness  having  become  abnor- 
mally active  at  the  expense  of  the  consciousness  on  the 
physical  plane,  the  activity  of  life  on  the  physical  plane 
may  cease,  and  the  affected  person  may  faint,  or  perhaps 
die. 


FORMATION.  89 

All  forms  come  into  existence  according  to  certain  laws. 
The  solar  microscope  shows  how,  in  a  solution  of  salt,  a 
centre  of  matter  is  formed,  and  how  to  that  centre  its 
kindred  forces  are  attracted,  crystalizing  around  it,  and 
becoming  solid  and  firm.  Each  kind  of  salt  produces  the 
peculiar  crystals  that  belong  to  its  class  and  no  other,  how- 
ever often  the  process  may  be  repeated.  In  the  vegetable 
kingdom  we  see  that  the  seed  of  one  plant  will  attract  to 
itself  those  forces  which  it  requires  to  produce  a  plant 
resembling  its  parent ;  the  seed  of  an  apple-tree  can 
produce  nothing  else  but  an  apple-tree,  and  an  acorn  can 
grow  into  nothing  else  but  an  oak.  The  principal  charac- 
teristics of  an  animal  will  be  those  that  belong  to  its 
parents,  and  the  external  appearance  of  a  man  will  cor- 
respond more  or  less  to  that  of  the  race  and  family  in 
which  he  was  born. 

As  every  mathematical  point  in  space  may  develop  into^ 
a  living  and  conscious  and  visible  being,  after  once  a 
certain  centre  of  energy  (a  germ)  has  been  formed,  so  in| 
the  invisible  realm  of  the  soul  astral  forms  may  come  into 
existence  wherever  the  necessary  conditions  for  their 
growth  exist.  In  the  same  manner  as  an  active  motion  on 
the  physical  plane  may  attract  the  universally  diffused 
matter  around  a  common  centre,  likewise  an  active  emotion 
on  the  astral  plane  may  crystalize  around  a  thought  into 
an  invisible  but  nevertheless  substantial  entity,  which  may 
have  an  existence  of  long  or  short  duration  according  toj 
the  intensity  with  which  the  forces  composing  it  are  concen- 
trated upon  its  centre.  As  the  forms  on  the  physical 
plane  correspond  to  the  characters  of  the  forces  prevailing 
upon  that  plane,  so  the  forms  on  the  astral  plane  are  ex- 
pressions of  the  characteristics  of  the  prevailing  emotions 
on  that  plane.  They  may  manifest  themselves  either  in 
beautiful  or  in  horrible  shapes,  because  every  form  is  only 
the  symbol  or  the  expression  of  the  character  which  it 
represents. 

The  forms  in  the  mineral  kingdom  are  expressive  of 
forces  acting  in  straight  and  angular  lines,  those  of  the 
vegetable  kingdom  represent  radiating  and  curved  lines ; 
the  animal  forms  arc  expressions  of  forces  acting  on  the 
astral  plane,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  astral  plane  may 
resemble  visible  animal  or  human  forms.  In  those  forms 
which  belong  exclusively  to  the  astral  plane  the  higher 


90  PHANTOMS. 

spiritual  energies  are  not  active.  They  may  have  a  con- 
sciousness of  their  own  and  realize  their  existence,  but 
under  ordinary  circumstances  they  have  no  more  intelli- 
gence than  animals,  and  cannot  act  intelligently  and  in 
accordance  with  reason.  They  follow  their  blind  attraction, 
as  iron  is  attracted  to  a  magnet,  and  wherever  they  find  an 
excessive  amount  of  emotion  evolved  by  a  human  being 
they  are  attracted  thither  as  to  a  common  centre,  and  their 
accumulation  increases  the  activity  of  that  centre  and 
increases  the  size  of  its  sphere.  We  therefore  often  see 
that  if  one  emotion  is  not  controlled  in  the  beginning  it 
may  grow  and  become  uncontrollable.  Some  people  have 
died  of  grief  and  some  others  of  joy. 

But  if  these  unintelligent  forms  are  infused  with  the 
principle  of  intelligence  proceeding  from  man,  they  become 
intelligent  and  act  in  accordance  with  the  dictates  of  the 
master  from  which  they  receive  their  will  and  intelligence, 
and  who  may  employ  them  for  good  or  for  evil.  Every 
emotion  that  arises  in  man  may  combine  with  the  astral 
forces  of  nature  and  create  a  being,  which  may  be  per- 
ceived by  persons  possessing  abnormal  faculties  of  per- 
ception as  an  active  and  living  entity.  Every  sentiment 
which  finds  expression  in  word  or  action  may  call  into 
existence  a  living  entity  on  the  astral  plane.  Some  of 
these  forms  maybe  very  enduring  according  to  the  intensity 
and  duration  of  the  thought  that  created  them,  while  others 
are  the  creations  of  one  moment  and  vanish  in  the  next. 

There  are  numerous  cases  on  record  in  which  some 
person  or  other  having  committed  some  crime  is  described 
as  having  been  persecuted  for  years  by  some  avenging 
demon,  who  would  appear  objectively  and  disappear  again. 
Such  demons  may  be,  and  perhaps  can  be  nothing  else  but 
the  products  of  the  involuntary  action  of  the  imagination 
of  their  victims ;  but  they  are  nevertheless  real  to  the  lat- 
ter. They  may  be  called  into  existence  by  memory  and 
remorse,  and  their  images,  existing  in  the  mind,  may 
become  objective  by  fear,  because  fear  is  a  repulsive 
function  ;  it  instinctively  repulses  the  object  of  which  a 
man  is  afraid,  and  by  repelling  the  image  from  the  centre 
towards  the  periphery  of  the  sphere  of  mind,  that  image 
may  be  rendered  objective. 

Instances  are  known  in  which  persons  have  been  driven 
to  suicide,  hoping  thereby  to  escape  these  persecuting 


DOUBLES.  91 

demons.  Such  demons  are  said  to  have  in  some  cases 
taken  even  a  tangible  form.  But  whether  tangible  or  in- 
tangible, the  substance  of  which  they  are  formed  is  merely 
a  projection  of  substance  of  the  person  to  whom  they  thus 
appear.  They  are,  so  to  say,  that  person  himself,  and  if 
the  latter  could  injure  or  kill  such  a  "ghost,"  he  would 
merely  thereby  injure  or  kill  his  own  body.* 
An  Adept  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Sinnett  says  : 
"  Every  thought  of  man  upon  being  evolved  passes  into 
another  world  and  becomes  an  active  entity  by  associating 
itself — coalescing  we  might  term  it — with  an  Elemental — , 
that  is  to  say,  with  one  of  the  semi-intelligent  forces  of 
the  kingdoms.  It  survives  as  an  active  intelligence — a 
creature  of  the  mind's  begetting — for  a  longer  or  shorter 
period,  proportionate  with  the  original  intensity  of  the 
cerebral  action  which  generated  it.  Thus,  a  good  thought 
is  perpetuated  as  an  active,  beneficent  power,  an  evil  one 
as  a  maleficent  demon.  And  so  man  is  continually 
peopling  his  current  in  space  with  the  offspring  of  his  fan- 
cies, desires,  impulses,  and  passions  ;  a  current  which 
reacts  upon  any  sensitive  or  nervous  organization,  which 
comes  in  contact  with  it,  in  proportion  to  its  dynamic  inten- 
sity   The  Adept  evolves  these  shapes  consciously, 

other  men  throw  them  off  unconsciously."  * 

*  In  the  "  Lives  of  the  Saints,"  and  in  the  history  of  witchcraft,  we 
often  find  instances  of  the  appearance  of  "  doubles  "  in  visible  and  even 
tangible  forms.  Such  phenomena  may  take  place  in  mediumistic  per- 
sons, if  by  contrary  emotions  the  Will  becomes  divided,  acting  in  two 
different  directions,  and  projecting  thereby  two  forms ;  for  it  is  the 
spiritual  Will  of  man  that  creates  subjective  forms,  consciously  or  un- 
consciously, and  under  certain  conditions  they  may  become  objective 
and  visible. 

As  an  illustration  of  this  law  we  may  cite  from  the  Acta  Sanctorum 
an  episode  in  the  life  of  Saint  Dominic.  He  was  once  called  to  the 
bedside  of  a  sick  person,  who  told  him  that  Christ  had  appeared  to  him. 
The  saint  answered  that  this  was  impossible,  and  that  the  apparition 
had  been  produced  by  the  devil,  because  only  holy  persons  could  have 
an  apparition  of  Christ.  As  he  said  so,  a  doubt  as  to  whether  the 
apparition  seen  may  not  have  been  a  true  one  after  all  entered  his 
mind,  and  immediately  a  division  of  consciousness  was  produced,  which 
caused  the  double  of  Dominic  to  appear  at  the  other  side  of  the  patient's 
bed.  The  two  Dominies  were  seen  by  the  patient,  and  heard  to  dis- 
pute with  each  other,  and  while  one  Dominic  asserted  that  the  apparition  . 
had  been  the  work  of  the  devil,  the  other  one  maintained  that  it  was  the 
true  Christ.  The  two  Dominies  were  so  exactly  identical,  that  the 


92  THO  UGHT  SHAPES. 

This  testimony  is  corroborated  by  one  coming  from 
another  source,  and  proving  that  to  create  subjective  forms 
it  is  not  necessary  to  give  a  distinct  shape  to  our  thoughts 
by  the  power  of  imagination,  but  that  each  state  of  feeling 
or  sentiment  may  find  expression  in  subjective  forms, 
whether  or  not  we  may  be  conscious  of  their  existence.  A 
form  is  a  state  of  mind,  and  a  sentiment  is  a  state  of  mind  ; 
a  sentiment  expressed  will  be  represented  by  a  correspond- 
ing form. 

Mr.  Whitworth,  a  clairvoyant,  describes  how  in  his  youth, 
while  seeing  a  German  professor  perform  on  an  organ,  he 
noticed  a  host  of  appearances  moving  about  the  keyboard 
—veritable  Lilliputian  sprites,  fairies,  and  gnomes,  astonish- 
ingly minute  in  size,  yet  as  perfect  in  form  and  features  as 
any  of  the  larger  people  in  the  room.  He  described  them 
as  being  divided  into  sexes  and  clothed  in  a  most  fantastic 
manner  ;  in  form,  appearance  and  movement  they  were  in 
perfect  accord  with  the  theme. 

"  In  the  quick  measures,  how  madly  they  danced,  waving 
their  plumed  hats  and  fans  in  very  ecstasy,  and  darting  to 
and  fro  in  inconceivable  rapidity,  with  feet  beating  time  in 
rain-like  patter  of  accord !  Quick  as  a  flash,  when  the 
music  changed  to  the  solemn  cadence  of  a  march  for  the 
dead,  the  airy  things  vanished,  and  in  their  place  came 
black-robed  gnomes,  dressed  like  cowled  monks,  sour- 
faced  Puritans,  or  mutes  in  the  black  garb  of  a  funeral 
procession  !  Strangest  of  all,  on  every  tiny  face  was 
expressed  the  sentiment  of  the  music,  so  that  I  could 
instantly  understand  the  thought  and  feeling  that  was 
intended  to  be  conveyed.  In  a  wild  burst  of  sounding  grief 
came  a  rush  of  mothers,  tear-eyed  and  with  dishevelled 
hair,  beating  their  breasts  and  wailing  pious  lamentations 
over  their  dead  loved  ones.  These  would  be  followed  by 

patient  did  not  know  which  of  them  was  the  true  saint,  and  which  one 
his  image,  and  he  could  not  make  up  his  mind  what  to  believe ;  until 
at  last  the  saint  called  upon  God  to  assist  him, — that  is  to  sav,  he  con- 
centrated his  will-power  again  within  himself  ;  his  consciousness  became 
again  a  unity,  and  the  "  double  "  disappeared  from  view. 

Absurd  as  such  stories  may  appear  to  our  "  enlightened  age,"  their 
absurdity  ceases  when  the  occult  laws  of  nature,  and  the  fact  of  the  possi- 
bilities of  a  double  consciousness  are  understood. 

»  A.  P.  Sinnett :  «  The  Occult  World." 


SPIRITS  OF  MUSIC.  93 

plumed  knights  with  shield  and  spear,  and  host  of  fiery 
troops,  mounted  or  foot,  red-handed  in  the  fiery  strife  oi 
bloody  battle,  as  the  clang  of  martial  music  came  leaping 
from  the  keyboard,  and  ever,  as  each  change  brought  its 
new  set  of  sprites,  the  old  ones  would  vanish  into  the  air 
as  suddenly  as  they  had  come.  Whenever  a  discord  was 
struck,  the  tiny  sprite  that  appeared  was  some  mis- 
shapen creature,  with  limbs  and  dress  awry,  usually  a 
humpbacked  dwarf,  whose  voice  was  guttural  and  rasping, 
and  his  every  movement  ungainly  and  disagreeable." 

He  then  describes  how  in  his  riper  age  he  saw  such  fairy- 
like  beings  coming  from  the  lips  of  persons  talking,  and 
which  seemed  in  every  action  the  very  counterpart  of  the 
feeling  conveyed  in  the  uttered  speech.  If  the  words  were 
inspired  by  good  sentiments,  these  figures  were  transcen- 
dentally  beautiful ;  bad  sentiments  produced  horrid-looking 
creatures  ;  hate  was  expressed  by  hissing  snakes  and  dark, 
fiery  devils  j  treacherous  words  produced  figures  beautiful 
in  front  and  disgusting  and  horrid  behind ;  while  love 
produced  forms  silvery,  white,  and  full  of  beauty  and 
harmony. 

"  On  one  never-to-be-forgotten  occasion  I  was  a  pained 
witness  to  a  scene  of  living  faithfulness  on  one  side  and  a 
double-faced,  treacherous  duplicity  on  the  other.  A  fair 
young  girl  and  her  departing  lover  had  met  to  exchange 
greetings  ere  he  went  on  a  distant  journey.  Each  word 
of  hers  gave  forth  beautiful,  radiant  fairies  ;  but  while  the 
front  half  of  each  that  was  turned  to  the  girl  was  equally 
fair  to  look  upon,  and  smiled  with  all  the  radiant  seeming 
of  undying  affection,  the  rear  half  of  each  was  black  and 
devilish,  with  fiery  snakes  and  red-forked  tongues  pro- 
truding from  their  cruel  lips,  as  gleams  of  wicked  cunning 
danced  in  sneaking,  sidelong  glances  from  the  comers  of 
the  half-closed  eyes.  These  dark  backgrounds  of  the  little 
figures  were  horrible  to  look  at,  ever  shifting,  dodging,  and 
seeming  to  shut  up  within  themselves,  as  they  sought  to 
keep  only  bright  and  honest  toward  the  trusting  girl,  and 
hold  the  black  deception  out  of  sight.  And  it  was  notice- 
able that  while  a  halo  of  cloudless  radiance  surrounded 
the  good  outside  seeming,  a  pall  of  thick  vapor  hung  like 
a  canopy  of  unbroken  gloom  above  the  other."  * 

*  Religio-Philosophical  Journal. 


94  APPARITIONS. 

It  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that  these  forms  had  any 
objective  existence  outside  of  the  mind  of  the  man  who 
observed  them.  They  were  the  creations  of  the  involun- 
tary action  of  his  mind,  and  represented  the  various  mental 
states  which  were  produced  in  quick  succession  by  the 
impressions  his  mind  received ;  but  they  furnish  a  good 
illustration  to  the  theory,  that  each  form  expresses  a 
certain  character,  and  that  each  mental  state  corresponds 
to  a  certain  form,  in  which  it  may  find  its  expression. 

The  above  description  coincides  with  what  has  been 
described  by  others,  and  proves  that  thoughts  and  senti- 
ments are  something  substantial  residing  in  the  imagination 
of  man,  and  which  may  affect  his  inner  world  for  good  or 
for  evil,  and  that  the  necessity  of  controlling  thoughts  and 
desires  is  not  a  matter  of  little  importance,  but  ha*s  a 
practical  use.  But  those  who  reject  such  testimony  and 
consider  such  forms  as  illusive  may  remember  that  not 
only  such  forms,  but  all  forms,  are  only  apparitions,  and 
that  they  all  represent  invisible  truths.  Before  the  pure 
light  of  reason  all  illusions  will  disappear  in  the  end  and 
the  truth  appear — not  hidden  in  forms,  but  in  the  sublime 
splendor  of  its  purity — before  the  wondering  gaze  of 
spiritually-awakened  Man. 

But  although  subjective  forms  are  manifestations  of  life 
they  have  no  appropriate  active  will  of  their  own.  They 
are  the  creations  of  the  thought  of  man  acting  upon  the 
A'kasa.  They  are  only  kept  alive  by  the  life-power  that 
radiates  into  them  from  the  life-centre  in  man.  They  are 
like  shadows,  vanishing  when  the  fountain  of  light  from 
which  they  drink  is  exhausted.  When  the  psychical  action 
of  man,  that  gave  them  life,  ceases  to  act,  or  acts  in  another 
direction,  they  will  disappear  sooner  or  later.  However, 
as  the  corpse  of  a  man  does  not  dissolve  immediately  as 
soon  as  the  principle  of  life  has  departed,  but  decays 
slowly  or  rapidly  according  to  their  molecular  density  and 
cohesion,  likewise  the  astral  forms  created  by  the  desires 
of  man  may  require  a  considerable  time  for  their  dissolution 
according  to  the  amount  of  will-fire  made  active  in  them. 
They  continue  to  exist  as  long  as  man  infuses  life  and 
consciousness  into  them  by  his  thought  and  his  will,  and  if 
they  have  once  gained  a  certain  amount  of  power,  they  may 
still  cling  to  him,  although  he  may  not  desire  their  com- 
panionship. They  depend  on  him  for  their  life,  and  the 


DEVILS.  95 

struggle  for  existence  forces  them  to  remain  with  the 
source  from  which  they  draw  their  vitality.  If  they  depart 
from  that  fountain  they  die  ;  they  are  therefore  forced  to 
remain,  and,  like  the  phantom  created  by  "  Frankenstein," 
they  persecute  their  creators  with  their  unwelcome  pre- 
sence. To  rid  oneself  of  such  a  presence,  he  who  is 
persecuted  should  direct  the  full  power  of  his  aspirations 
and  thoughts  into  another  and  higher  direction,  and  there- 
by starve  them  to  death.  In  this  way  the  spiritual  principle 
of  every  man  becomes  his  special  Redeemer,  who  by  the 
transformation  of  character  saves  him  from  the  effects  of 
his  sin,  and  before  whose  pure  light  the  illusions  created  by 
the  lower  attractions  will  melt  like  the  snow  under  the 
influence  of  the  sun. 

Elemental  forms  being  the  servants  of  their  creator — in 
fact,  his  own  self — may  be  used  by  him  for  good  or  for  evil 
purposes.  Loves  and  hates  may  create  subjective  forms 
of  beautiful  or  of  horrid  shapes,  and,  being  infused  with 
consciousness,  obtain  life,  and  may  be  sent  on  some  errand 
for  good  or  for  evil.  Through  them  the  magician  may 
blend  his  own  life  and  consciousness  with  the  person  he 
desires  to  affect.  A  lock  of  hair,  a  piece  of  clothing,  or 
some  object  that  has  been  worn  by  the  person  he  desires 
to  affect,  may  form  a  connecting  link  between  himself  and 
the  latter.  The  same  object  may  be  attained  if  that  person 
is  put  into  possession  of  an  article  belonging  to  the 
magician,  because  wherever  a  portion  of  anything  with 
which  the  magician  was  connected  exists,  there  will  a  part 
of  his  own  elements  exist,  which  will  form  a  magnetic  link 
between  him  and  the  person  whom  he  wishes  to  affect.  If 
he  has  developed  his  astral  senses,  distance  will  not  pre- 
vent him  to  observe  the  person  with  which  he  is  connected  ; 
if  he  can  project  his  astral  form  at  a  distance,  his  form  may 
be  present  with  his  victim,  although  the  latter  may  not  be 
able  to  see  it. 

The  astral  image  of  a  person  may  be  projected  con- 
sciously or  unconsciously  to  a  distance.  If  he  intensely 
thinks  of  a  certain  place,  his  thought  will  be  there,  and 
consequently  he  will  be  there,  for  the  thought  of  a  man  is 
the  most  important  part  of  himself.  Wherever  a  man's 
consciousness  is,  there  is  the  man  himself,  no  matter 
whether  his  physical  body  is  there  or  not. 

The  history  of  spiritualism  and  somnambulism  furnishes 


96  ASTRAL  PROJECTION'. 

abundant  evidence  that  a  person  may  be  consciously  and 
knowingly  in  one  place,  while  his  physical  body  lies  dor- 
mant in  another.  Franciscus  Xaver  was  thus  seen  in  two 
different  places  at  one  and  the  same  time.  Likewise 
Apollonius  of  Tyana,  and  innumerable  others  mentioned 
in  ancient  and  modern  history. 

The  Elemental  sent  by  a  magician  is  an  essential  part  of 
the  magician  himself,  and  if  the  victim  is  vulnerable  by 
being  mediumistic — with  other  words,  by  not  having  his 
own  principles  held  together  by  the  power  of  his  reason 
and  will,  the  latter  may  be  injured  by  the  former.  But  the 
former,  too,  if  his  astral  form  be  materialized  to  a  certain 
extent,  even  if  not  sufficiently  to  be  visible  to  the  eye,  may 
be  injured  by  physical  force,  and  as  the  astral  form  re- 
enters  the  physical  body,  the  latter  will  partake  of  the 
injuries  inflicted  upon  the  former.* 

The  magician,  who  by  the  power  of  his  will  has  obtained 
control  over  the  semi-intelligent  forces  of  Nature,  can  make 
use  of  these  forces  for  the  purposes  of  good  or  evil.  The 
helpless  medium,  through  whom  manifestations  of  occult 
power  take  place,  can  neither  cause  nor  control  such  mani- 
festations. He  cannot  control  the  elementals,  but  is 
controlled  by  them.  The  elements  of  his  body  serve  as 
instruments  through  which  these  astral  existences  act,  after 
the  Medium  has  surrendered  his  will  and  given  up  the 
supreme  command  over  his  soul.  He  sits  passively  and 
waits  for  what  these  elementals  may  be  pleased  to  do ;  he 
unconsciously  furnishes  them  with  his  life  and  power  to 
think,  and  his  thoughts  and  the  thoughts  of  those  that  are 
present  may  become  reflected  in  these  astral  forms,  or  may 
enable  them  to  manifest  an  intelligence  of  their  own. 

A  medium  for  spirit-manifestations  is  merely  an  instru- 
ment for  the  manifestation  of  invisible  forces  over  which 
he  has  no  control,  and  the  more  mediumistic  a  person  is, 
the  less  will  he  be  liable  to  exercise  a  will  of  his  own. 
The  best  of  such  mediums  have  been  very  unjustly  blamed 
for  '-cheating"  for  a  medium  which  would  not  "cheat"  is  as 
unthinkable  as  a  mirror  that  would  not  reflect  the  objects 
before  it.  The  thoughts  of  the  persons  visiting  a  Medium, 
and  who  are  trying  to  find  out  his  "  impostures, "are  taken 
up  by  the  Medium  and  reflected  by  him.  It  is  therefore 

*  Des  Mousseaux:  "  Moeursdes  demons."     Ennemoser:  "  Magie." 


SPIRITUALISM.  97 

not  the  Medium's  person  that  cheats,  but  his  visitors 
cheating  themselves  through  his  instrumentality.  A 
mirror  that  would  not  reflect  all  the  objects  that  are 
brought  before  it,  would  be  a  very  unnatural  and  deceptive 
thing ;  a  Medium  who  would  only  reflect  such  thoughts  as 
he  chose  to  reflect  would  be  an  impostor,  for  being  able  to 
exercise  his  own  will  he  would  not  be  in  that  passive 
condition  which  constitutes  his  mediumship. 

The  Adept  in  Magic  is  not  the  slave  of  these  forces,  but 
controls  them  by  the  power  of  his  will.  He  may  con- 
sciously infuse  life  and  consciousness  and  intelligence 
into  them  and  make  them  act  as  he  pleases  ;  they  obey 
his  commands  because  they  are  a  part  of  himself.  The 
spiritualists  do  this  unconsciously ;  they  frequently  sing 
at  their  seances  to  produce  harmony,  and  they  know  that 
the  more  the  conditions  are  harmonious  the  better  will  be 
the  manifestations.  The  reason  for  this  is,  that  the  more 
harmony  exists  in  a  circle,  the  less  will  there  be  any 
exercise  of  individual  will,  the  less  concentration  of  self, 
and  the  easier  will  it  be  for  these  influences  to  use  the 
will  and  the  vitality  of  the  sitters. 

These  animal  astral  existences  belong  to  the  kama  rupa 
form  of  existence,  and  their  forms  are  therefore  too  ethereal 
to  act  directly  upon  gross  matter.  They,  therefore,  need 
the  assistance  of  an  intermediary  principle,  which  is 
furnished  by  the  second  principle  in  man,  the  combination 
of  soul  and  matter,  called  Lingasariram.  This  may  be 
furnished  by  the  astral  elements  of  the  living,,  or  by  the 
astral  remnants  of  those  whose  bodies  are  dead. 

The  astral  elements  used  by  the  Elementals  in  spiritual 
seances  for  the  purpose  of  producing  physical  phenomena, 
are  not  only  taken  from  the  medium,  but  from  all  present, 
whose  constitution  is  not  strong,  and  who  may  therefore 
furnish  such  elements.  In  seances  for  materializations, 
they  are  also  taken  from  the  clothing  of  those  present,  and 
furnish  material  for  the  drapery  of  the  "  spirits,"  and  it 
has  been  observed,  that  the  clothing  worn  by  people  who 
frequently  attend  to  such  seances  wears  out  sooner  than 
usual. 

To  bring  fresh-spilled  blood  into  such  "  spiritual 
seances,"  would  probably  increase  the  strength  of  the 
"  materializations  "  very  much,  and  a  knowledge  of  such 
facts  has  given  rise  to  the  abominable  practices  of  black 


$8  GHOSTS. 

magic,  which  are  still  going  on  in  many  parts  of  the  world, 
although  secretly  and  unknown  to  the  police.  This 
knowledge  has  also  undoubtedly  given  rise  to  the  sacrifice 
of  animals  in  the  performance  of  religious  ceremonies.  A 
certain  executioner  was  unfortunately  gifted  with  clair- 
voyance, and  after  having  decapitated  a  person  he  could 
see  the  "  spirits  "  of  dead  people — sometimes  even  his 
friends  and  relatives — pounce  upon  the  fresh-spilled  blood 
of  the  criminal,  and  feed  on  its  emanation  and  aura.  He 
became  so  disgusted  that  he  had  to  resign  his  position. 
It  is  also  a  fact  that,  at  a  time  when  the  blood-drinking 
mania  in  Europe  was  started  by  medical  ignorance,  many 
people  who  practised  it  became  insane,  and  others  became 
demoralized  by  it. 

The  astral  remnant  of  man  is  without  judgment  and 
reason,  it  goes  wherever  his  instincts  may  attract  it,  or 
wherever  any  unsatisfied  craving  may  impel  it  to  go.  If 
you  wish  to  be  haunted  by  the  "  ghost "  of  a  man,  attract 
him  by  the  power  of  love  or  hate  which  you  felt  for  the 
man.  Leave  some  promise  unfulfilled  which  you  might 
have  fulfilled,  and  instinctively  the  astral  form  of  the 
deceased  will  be  attracted  to  you  to  seek  its  fulfilment, 
drawn  to  you  by  its  own  unsatisfied  desire. 

Such  an  astral  form  is  not  necessarily  in  any  way  con- 
sciously connected  with  the  real  spirit  of  that  person,  as 
will  be  clear  to  those  who  have  studied  the  doctrines  of  the 
constitution  of  man.  It  may  be  merely  that  combination  of 
his  lower  principle,  or  his  astral  corpse,  which  made  up  the 
animal  man.  But  if  the  man  was  very  brutish,  having  all 
or  nearly  all  his  consciousness  concentrated  into  his 
animal  elements,  such  a  remnant  may  constitute  all,  or 
nearly  all,  there  ever  existed  of  that  person,  except  his 
higher  reason,  which  may  have  fled  even  before  his  death. 
There  are  endless  varieties  of  combinations  of  circumstances 
existing  on  the  astral  as  well  as  on  the  physical  plane  ;  there 
is  no  pattern  by  which  all  cases  can  be  explained  alike. 
Their  study  belongs  to  the  department  of  Necromancy. 

It  is  not  his  fault  if  you  do  not  perceive  his  presence  and 
hear  his  voice,  it  is  because  your  astral  senses  are  asleep 
and  unconscious ;  you  may  feel  his  presence  and  it  may 
cause  a  feeling  of  depression  in  your  mind;  he  speaks  to  you 
but  in  a  language  thatyou  have  notyet  learned  to  understand. 
In  those  elementary  remnants  remains  that  which  con- 


NECROMANCY.  99 

stituted  the  lower  nature  of  man,  and  if  they  are  tempor- 
arily infused  with  life,  they  will  manifest  the  lower  charac- 
teristics of  the  deceased,  such  as  have  not  been  sufficiently 
refined  to  join  his  immortal  part.  If  a  music-box  is  set  to 
play  a  certain  melody  and  made  to  start,  it  will  produce  that 
same  melody  and  no  other,  although  it  has  no  consciousness 
of  its  own.  The  remnant  of  emotional  and  intellectual 
powers  in  the  astral  remnant  of  man  will,  if  this  remnant 
is  made  to  speak,  become  manifest  in  the  same  kind  of 
language  which  the  man  during  his  life  used  to  speak. 

The  fresh  corpse  of  a  person  who  has  suddenly  been 
killed,  may  be  galvanized  into  a  semblance  of  life  by  the 
application  of  a  galvanic  battery.  Likewise  the  astral 
corpse  of  a  person  may  be  brought  back  into  an  artificial 
life  by  being  infused  with  a  part  of  the  life-principle  of  the 
medium.  If  that  corpse  is  one  of  a  very  intellectual 
person,  it  may  talk  very  intellectually ;  and  if  it  was  that 
of  a  fool,  it  will  talk  like  a  fool.  The  intellectual  action 
resembles  mechanical  motion  in  so  far  that  if  it  is  once 
set  into  action  it  will  continue  without  any  continual  effort 
of  the  will,  until  it  is  exhausted  or  comes  to  a  stop.  We 
often  see  this  in  daily  life.  There  are  old  and  young 
people  frequently  seen  who  are  in  the  habit  of  telling 
some  favorite  story,  which  they  have  already  told  many 
times,  and  which  they  repeat  on  every  ocassion.  It  may 
be  noticed,  that  when  such  an  one  begins  to  tell  his  story, 
it  is  of  no  use  to  tell  him  that  one  knows  it  already.  He 
has  to  finish  the  story  in  spite  of  himself. 

An  orator  or  a  preacher  does  not  need  to  think  and 
reason  about  each  word  he  utters  separately.  When  the 
stream  of  ideas  once  flows,  it  flows  without  any  effort  of 
the  will.  If  ideas  flow  into  the  astral  brain  of  a  deceased 
person,  infused  with  life  by  the  medium,  that  brain  will 
elaborate  those  ideas  in  the  same  way  it  was  accustomed 
to  do  during  life. 

We  also  reason  while  we  dream ;  we  draw  logical  con- 
clusions during  our  sleep ;  but  reason  is  absent,  and 
although,  while  we  dream,  our  logic  seems  to  be  reason- 
able, nevertheless  we  often  see  that  it  was  foolish  when 
we  awake  and  when  our  reason  returns,  or  becomes  active 
again. 

The  mental  organism  of  man  resembles  a  clockwork, 
which  if  it  is  once  set  into  operation  will  continue  to  run 


loo  EVIL  ASSOCIATIONS. 

until  its  force  is  exhausted  ;  but  there  is  no  clockwork 
which  winds  itself  up  without  extraneous  assistance,  and 
there  is  no  mental  organism  able  to  think  without  a  power 
that  causes  it  to  begin  the  process  of  intellectuation. 

In  a  departed  soul  the  attraction  of  good  and  evil  still 
continues  to  act,  until  the  final  separation  of  the  higher 
and  the  lower  takes  place.  It  may  follow  the  attraction  of 
the  higher  principles  in  nature  and  be  attracted  to  spirit, 
or  it  may  again  come  into  contact  with  matter  through  the 
instrumentality  of  mediumship,  take  again  part  in  the 
whirling  dance  of  life,  although  by  vicarious  organs  ;  follow 
once  more  the  seduction  of  the  senses,  and  lose  entirely 
sight  of  the  immortal  self. 

It  is  therefore  not  merely  dangerous  to  a  person  to  hold 
intercourse  with  the  "  spirits  of  the  departed  ;  "  but  it  is 
especially  injurious  to  the  latter, — as  long  as  the  final 
separation  of  their  lower  principles  from  the  higher  ones 
has  not  yet  taken  place.  Necromancy  is  a  vile  art,  and  so 
has  therefore  always  been  abhorred.  It  may  disturb  the 
blissful  dreams  of  the  sleeping  soul,  which  aspires  to  a 
higher  state  of  existence.  It  is  like  roughly  attacking  a 
saint  during  his  hours  of  meditation,  and  to  force  him  to 
take  an  interest  in  affairs  of  the  lower  life,  which  can  be  of 
no  use  to  him  in  his  efforts  to  rise  into  a  superior  state.  It 
is  a  step  towards  degradation  ;  and  as  every  impulse  has 
a  tendency  to  repeat  itself,  the  most  terrible  consequences 
may  follow  after  what  seemed  to  be  at  first  merely  some 
innocent  amusement. 

These  astral  remnants  may  be  used  by  the  black  magi- 
cian and  by  the  elemental  forces  in  nature  for  the  purpose 
of  evil.  If  they  are  unconscious,  they  will  only  serve  as 
the  instruments  of  the  latter  ;  if  they  are  conscious  they 
may  enter  into  an  alliance  and  co-operate  with  them. 

Such  alliance,  either  consciously  or  unconsciously  on  the 
part  of  him  who  enters  into  such  an  unspiritual  inter- 
course, may  take  place  between  an  evil-disposed  person 
and  a  very  evil  inhabitant  of  the  astral  plane, ^whose  whole 
consciousness  has  been  concentrated  within  his  lower 
principles.  We  are  convinced  that  many  people  who  are 
in  actual  possession  of  powers  to  work  black  magic  work 
evil  unconsciously;  that  is  to  say,  that  if  they  hate  a 
person,  they  are  often  unconscious  of  the  effects  which 
their  hate  produces  upon  the  latter,  and  of  the  mode  in 


SORCERY.  1 01 

which  it  acts.  The  spiritual  force  created  by  their  hate 
may  enter  the  organism  of  the  object  of  their  hate •.  Iti'd 
cause  some  bodily  sickness,  and  the  person'  from  '  vvhom 
the  evil  power  proceeds  may  b6  eiftirply^igflozant.,  of  ;the 
fact  that  it  was  his  own  hate  which  prc'duced  ;he  sicklies?. 
Such  black  magicians  merely  furnish  the  elements  of  evil, 
by  which  invisible  powers  act.  The  animal  elements, 
existing  in  the  soul  of  man,  may,  after  having  attained  a 
certain  degree  of  vitality,  be  projected  by  hate  towards 
another  person  and  enter  his  soul,  even  unknown  to  him, 
from  whom  they  originate.  But  they  are  still  a  part  of  the 
life-principle  of  the  person  from  whom  they  originated,  and 
if  they  cannot  take  hold  of  the  soul  of  him,  against  whom 
they  are  directed,  they  return  again  to  the  source  from 
which  they  originated,  and  may  kill  him,  from  whom  they 
emanated.  It  is  therefore  said,  that  if  the  will  of  the  black 
magician  is  not  strong  enough  to  effect  his  evil  purpose, 
the  force  will  return  and  kill  the  magician. 

This  is  undoubtedly  true,  and  the  grossest  illustration  of 
it  is,  if  a  person  by  a  fit  of  rage  or  jealousy  is  induced  to 
kill  himself.  It  is  the  reaction  following  an  unfulfilled 
desire,  which  induces  the  rash  act ;  the  act  is  merely  a 
result  of  his  previous  mental  state. 

The  surest  protection  against  all  the  practices  of  black 
magic,  whether  they  are  caused  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously, is  to  acquire  strength  of  character, — in  other 
words,  faith  in  the  divine  principle  within  one's  own 
soul. 

As  man  becomes  ennobled,  the  lower  elements  in  his 
constitution  are  thrown  off  and  replaced  by  higher  ones, 
and  in  a  similar  manner  a  transformation  may  take  place 
in  the  opposite  way  if  he  degrades  himself  by  his  thoughts 
and  acts.  Sensual  man  attracts  from  the  A'kasa  those 
elements  that  his  sensuality  requires,  for  gross  pleasures 
can  only  be  felt  by  gross  matter.  A  man  with  brutal 
instincts  growing  and  increasing  may  degrade  himself  into 
a  brute  in  character,  if  not  in  external  form.  But  as  the 
form  is  only  an  expression  of  character,  even  that  form 
may  again  approach  an  animal  in  resemblance. 

The  proof  of  this  assertion  is  seen  every  day,  for  we 
meet  every  day  in  the  streets  brutish  men,  whose  animal 
instincts  are  only  too  well  expressed  in  their  external 
forms.  We  meet  with  human  snakes,  hogs,  wolves,  and 


102  DE  GRA  DA  TIOW. 

those  upon  whom  alcohol  has  stampeds  it  seal,  and  it  does 
net;  need  the  instructions  given  in  books  on  physiognomy 
to  enable  almos't  anybody  to  read  the  character  of  certain 
.per.seur.  more  or  le*>s; correctly  expressed  in  their  exterior 
iorfnsV 

In  the  physical  plane  the  inertia  of  matter  is  greater 
than  in  the  astral  plane,  and  consequently  its  changes  are 
slow.  Astral  matter  is  more  active,  and  may  change  its 
form  more  rapidly.  The  astral  body  of  a  man  whose 
character  resembles  an  animal  may  therefore  appear  to 
the  seer  as  an  animal  in  its  outward  expression.* 

The  astral  form  of  an  evil  person  may  appear  in  an 
animal  shape  if  it  is  so  filled  with  brutish  instincts  as  to 
become  identified  in  his  imagination  with  the  animal 
which  is  the  expression  of  such  instincts.  It  may  even 
enter  the  form  of  an  animal  and  obsess  it,  and  it  sometimes 
happens  that  it  enters  such  forms  for  its  own  protection 
against  immediate  decomposition  and  death. 

It  would  be  useless  to  give  anecdotes,  illustrating 
instances,  in  which  such  things  took  place.  The  principal 
object  of  the  reader  should  be  to  learn  to  know  the  essen- 
tial constitutions  of  man,  by  observing  the  conditions  of 
his  own  being  and  the  law  which  regulates  all  foims  of 
matter  and  functions.  If  he  once  understands  the  modes 
in  which  the  law  may  act,  it  will  be  a  matter  of  little  im- 
portance to  know  in  what  particular  cases  it  may  have 
manifested  itself  in  such  modes.  Accounts  of  phenomena 
can  never  supply  the  place  of  the  understanding  of  the 
law. 

Popular  traditions  speak  of  human  beings  having 
assumed  the  form  of  animals,  roaming  about  and  injuring 
men  and  cattle.  Modern  culture  is  prone  to  pronounce 
impossible  everything  that  she  cannot  explain  ;  but  the 
existence  of  such  forms  is  theoretically  not  impossible, 
because  a  person  may  project  his  astral  elements  at  a 
distance  and  make  them  appear  in  a  material  form,  and 
that  form  is  not  necessarily  human,  because  man  is  what 
he  thinks,  and  his  exterior  shape  may  adapt  itself  to  the 
true  character  by  the  power  of  his  imagination. 

*  E.  Swedenborg  :  "  Heaven  and  Hell." 


I/M 


CHAPTER  IV. 

LIFE. 

"  I  never  was  not,  nor  shall  I  hereafter  cease  to  be" 

Bhagwat  Gita. 

THE  universe  of  forms  may  be  compared  to  a  kaleidoscope 
in  which  the  various  forms  of  the  original  energy  manifest 
themselves  in  an  endless  variety,  appearing,  disappearing, 
and  re-appearing  again.  As  in  a  kaleidoscope  the  pieces 
of  variously-colored  glass  do  not  change  their  substance, 
but  only  change  their  positions,  and,  through  the  delusive 
reflections  of  mirrors  at  each  turn  of  the  instrument,  are 
made  to  appear  in  new  constellations  and  figures,  so  the 
One  Life  manifesting  itself  appears  in  an  infinite  number 
of  forms  and  colors,  acting  as  "  matter "  or  "  force," 
unconscious  or  conscious,  blind  or  intelligent,  voluntary  or 
involuntary,  from  the  atom,  whose  auras  and  others  rush 
through  a  common  vortex,*  invisibly  but  nevertheless 
substantial,  up  to  the  blazing  suns  whose  photospheres 
extend  over  millions  of  miles,  and  from  the  microscopic 
Amoeba,  whose  protoplasm  manifests  only  the  rudiments 
of  instinct,  up  to  perfect  Man,  whose  intelligence  conquers 
the  gods. 

Forms  are  isolated  and  materialized  thoughts.  If  you 
can  hold  on  to  a  thought  and  isolate  it  from  others,  you 
call  into  existence  a  form.  If  you  can  impart  to  that 
form  your  consciousness,  you  may  make  it  conscious  ;  if 
you  can  invest  it  with  the  element  of  matter,  you  may 
make  it  visible  and  tangible ;  but  few  persons  are  able  to 
hold  on  to  one  single  thought  even  for  one  single  minute  of 
time,  because  their  minds  are  wavering  and  flickering; 
few  can  transfer  their  consciousness,  because  they  cannot 

*  Babbitt :  "  Principles  of  Light  and  Color." 


104  UNITY  OF  EXPRESSION. 

voluntarily  forget  their  own  selves;  few  can  control  the 
element  of  earth,  because  it  is  their  master,  and  they  are 
attracted  by  it.  The  prototypes  of  all  forms  exist  in  the 
Astral  Light,  which  is  the  Universal  Soul  in  which 
resides  the  Universal  Mind ;  the  A'kdsa  or  Universal 
Matter  being  its  more  material  substance.  If  a  form 
comes  into  existence  on  the  physical  plane,  its  growth  is 
simply  a  process  by  which  something  that  already  exists 
becomes  visible  and  material,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly, 
a  lower  state  of  vibration  of  the  same  element.  This  some- 
thing is  the  idea  or  character  of  the  form,  and  as  each 
character  is  a  unity,  such  a  character  will  be  distinctly 
expressed  in  all  parts  of  the  form.  A  human  being — for 
instance — will  not  have  the  body  of  a  man  and  the  head  of 
an  animal,  but  its  human  character  will  be  expressed  in  all 
its  parts,  and  as  the  character  constituting  humanity  is 
expressed  in  all  human  individuals,  so  is  the  character  of 
an  individual  expressed  in  all  its  parts.  This  is  a  truth 
upon  which  the  doctrines  of  Astrology,  Phrenology, 
Chiromancy,  Physiognomy,  etc.,  are  based,  which — if 
rightly  understood — are  not  only  possibly  true,  but  must  be 
necessarily  and  unavoidably  true,  because  Nature  is  a 
Unity.  The  nature  of  an  animal,  a  plant,  or  a  man,  is  a 
unity,  and  is  therefore  expressed  in  all  the  parts  of  each 
respective  form.  It  can  be  scientifically  demonstrated  that 
each  component  part  of  an  organism  is  a  microcosm,  in 
which  are  represented  the  principles  composing  that 
organism.  We  may  by  examining  a  part  of  a  leaf  know 
that  it  comes  from  a  plant,  and  by  looking  at  an  animal 
substance  see  that  it  came  from  an  animal,  or  by  testing 
even  the  most  minute  part  of  a  mineral  or  metal  know  that 
it  belongs  to  the  mineral  kingdom.  Likewise  we  may  read 
a  man's  character  in  his  hands  or  face  or  feet  or  in  any 
other  part  of  his  body,  if  we  have  acquired  the  art  how  to 
read  it  correctly. 

These  things  are  known  to  physical  science.  But  if  the 
power  of  interior  perception  is  once  attained,  a  still  greater 
world  of  wonders  is  opened  before  the  astonished  sight  of 
the  seer ;  he  will  then  perceive  that  every  part  of  an 
organism  bears  the  correct  impression  of  the  form  of  the 
whole,  and  upon  each  particle  is  "  photographed  "  by  the 
Astral  Light  the  picture  of  the  body  to  which  it  belongs. 

The  suns  and  planets  in  space  as  well  as  all  terrestrial 


SIGNATURES.  105 

objects  have  their  souls,  else  they  could  have  no  bodies ; 
because  their  bodies  are  only  the  external  expressions  of 
the  soul,  and  their  character  rests  in  their  souls.  Their 
souls  act  upon  each  other  and  are  acted  upon  by  all,  and 
as  the  characters  of  these  souls  change,  so  change  the 
physical  forms.  These  astral  influences,  constituting  the 
soul  of  the  Universe,  build  up  all  forms,  they  modify  the 
character  and  the  growth  of  minerals,  plants,  and  animals, 
they  are  the  cause  of  endemic  and  epidemic  diseases;  they 
evolve  in  the  course  of  ages  variously-shaped  animals,  they 
predetermine  to  a  certain  extent  the  destiny  of  men,*  and 
furnish  the  energies  whose  character  impresses  itself  upon 
everything.  Their  signatures  may  be  seen  in  the  book  of 
life  belonging  to  every  form,  in  the  size  and  shape  of 
features  and  limbs,  in  the  lines  of  the  hands,  in  the  color 
of  eyes  and  hair.f  They  are  the  forces  by  which  the 
Universal  Mind  puts  his  mark  upon  everything,  and  those 
who  are  able  to  read  may  find  the  true  history  of  every- 
thing written  upon  the  leaves  of  its  soul.J  Likewise  every 
individual  mind  prints  his  character  upon  every  one  of 
his  thoughts,  words,  and  acts,  and  upon  the  soul  of 
everything  which  comes  within  his  sphere. 

Upon  this  law  is  based  the  science  of  Psychometry.  By 
this  science  we  may  obtain  a  true  history  of  past  events. 
By  psychometrically  examining  a  stone  taken  from  a 
house  we  may  obtain  correct  information  in  regard  to  the 
former  or  present  inhabitants  of  a  house,  or  a  fossil  may  give 
a  true  description  of  antediluvian  scenery  and  of  the  mode 
of  life  of  prehistoric  animals  or  men.  By  the  psychometrical 
examination  of  a  letter  we  may  obtain  information  about 
the  person  who  wrote  the  letter  and  also  of  the  place  in 

*  This  is  to  be  taken  in  the  same  sense  as  heat  and  cold,  rain  and 
sunshine ;  miasmas  and  earthquakes  may  change  the  fortune  and  destiny 
of  men  who  do  not  take  due  care  to  protect  themselves  against  their 
effects ;  but  as  man  by  the  power  of  his  intellect  has  become  able  to 
guard  himself  against  the  inimical  influence  arising  in  the  external 
plane ;  likewise  by  the  exercise  of  his  will  and  intelligence  he  may 
overcome  the  dangers  threatening  him  from  the  astral  plane. 

t  Debarolles :  "  Mysteres  de  la  main." 

£  Prof.  W.  Denton  :  "  Soul  of  Things."  J.  R.  Buchanan  :  "  Manual 
of  Psychometry. 


lo6  7>S  YCIIOME  TR  Y. 

which  the  letter  was  written.  If  this  art  were  universally 
known  and  practised,  criminals  could  be  detected  by 
examining  psychometrically  a  piece  of  the  wall,  the  floor, 
or  the  furniture  of  the  room  in  which  a  murder  or  robbery 
was  committed;  it  would  make  an  end  to  convicting  of 
innocent  persons  on  circumstantial  evidence,  or  to  letting 
the  guilty  escape  for  want  of  proof;  for  the  psychometer 
would,  by  the  superior  powers  of  his  perception  with  the 
spiritual  eye,  see  the  murderer  or  robber  or  counterfeiter 
as  plain  as  if  he  had  seen  them  with  his  external  eyes  while 
the  deed  was  committed. 

Each  form  is  the  external  expression  of  a  certain 
character  which  it  represents,  and  as  such  it  has  certain 
peculiar  attributes,  which  distinguish  it  from  other  forms. 
A  change  of  its  character  is  followed  by  a  gradual  change 
of  the  form.  An  individual  who  becomes  degraded  in 
morals  will,  in  the  course  of  time,  show  his  degradation  in 
his  external  appearance  ;  persons  of  a  different  appearance 
and  different  characters  may,  in  the  course  of  time,  as  their 
characters  harmonize,  resemble  each  other  to  a  certain 
extent  in  appearance.  Forms  of  life,  belonging  to  the 
same  class  and  species,  resemble  each  other,  and  each 
nationality  has  certain  characteristics  expressed  in  the 
individuals  belonging  to  it.  A  full-blooded  Irishman  will 
not  easily  be  mistaken  for  a  full-blooded  Spaniard,  although 
the  two  may  be  dressed  alike,  but  if  they  both  emigrate  to 
America  their  children  or  grandchildren  will  in  time  lose 
the  national  characteristics  which  their  ancestors  pos- 
sessed. Change  of  character  changes  the  form  ;  but  a 
change  of  external  form  does  not  necessarily  change  the 
character.  A  man  may  lose  a  leg  and  become  a  cripple, 
and  still  his  character  may  remain  the  same  as  before  ;  a 
child  may  grow  into  a  man,  and  still  his  character  remain 
that  of  a  child  unless  modified  by  education. 

These  facts  are  incontrovertible  proofs  that  the  character 
of  a  being  is  more  essential  than  his  external  form;  that 
the  form  is  illusive,  and  that  the  reality  is  a  principle  which 
is  independent  of  form.  If  the  character  of  an  individual 
were  to  depend  on  his  inherited  form,  children  born  of  the 
same  parents  and  educated  under  the  same  circumstances 
would  always  manifest  the  same  mental  characteristic,  but 
it  is  well  known  that  the  characters  of  such  children  often 
differ  widely  from  each  other,  and  they  may  possess 
characteristics  which  their  parents  do  not  possess. 


CHARACTER.  107 

If,  as  it  frequently  happens,  children  show  the  same  or 
similar  talents  and  intellectual  capacities  as  their  parents, 
such  a  fact  is  by  no  means  a  proof  that  the  parents  of  the 
child's  physical  body  are  also  the  parents  or  producers  of 
its  intellectual  germ ;  but  it  may  be  taken  as  an  additional 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  of  reincarnation, 
because  the  spiritual  monad  of  the  child  would  be  natur- 
ally attracted,  in  its  efforts  to  reincarnate,  to  the  bodies  of 
parents,  whose  mental  and  intellectual  constitution  would 
correspond  nearest  to  its  own  talents  and  inclinations, 
developed  during  a  previous  earthly  life. 

Characters  may  exist  independent  of  external  conditions  ; 
the  latter  can  only  modify,  but  not  create,  the  former. 
The  best  soil  will  not  produce  an  oak  tree  unless  an  acorn 
is  present,  and  a  Cholera  Baccillus  will  not  produce 
cholera  where  the  "  predisposition  "  to  that  disease  does 
not  already  exist.  Forms  may  facilitate  the  development 
of  character,  but  they  do  not  create  it,  and  persons  that 
appear  in  every  respect  alike  may  be  of  a  very  different 
character. 

How  can  we  account  for  such  moral  and  intellectual 
discrepancies  in  forms  that  are  merely  alike,  as  long  as  we 
shut  our  eyes  to  the  truth,  that  that  which  is  essential  in  a 
being,  whether  rational  or  irrational,  is  its  character,  and 
that  its  form  is  only  the  external  expression  of  that  internal 
and  invisible  character,  which  may  survive  after  the  form 
has  ceased  to  exist,  and  after  the  dissolution  of  the  form 
finds  its  expression  again  in  another  form !  Forms  die, 
but  their  character  remains  unchanged  after  their  death, 
preserved  in  the  Astral  Light,  like  the  thoughts  of  man 
stored  up  in  his  memory,  after  the  events  that  called  them 
into  existence  have  passed  away.  A  character  does  neither 
die  nor  change  after  it  has  left  the  form,  but,  after  a  time 
of  rest  in  the  subjective  state,  it  will  reimbody  itself  again 
in  a  new-born  objective  form,  to  grow  and  change  its 
nature  during  the  life  of  the  form.  Seen  from  this  stand- 
point, "  death  "  is  life,  because,  during  the  time  that  death 
lasts,  that  which  is  essential  in  a  form  does  not  change ; 
life  is  death,  because  only  during  life  in  the  form  the  char- 
acter is  changed,  and  old  tendencies  and  inclinations  die 
and  are  replaced  by  others. 

Each  form  is  an  incarnation  of  a  certain  character.  Our 
passions  and  vices  may  die  while  we  live ;  if  they  survive 
us  they  will  be  born  again. 


io8  REINCARNATION". 

The  character  of  an  oak  exists  before  the  acorn  begins 
to  grow,  but  the  growing  germ  attracts  from  earth  and  air 
such  elements  as  it  needs  to  produce  an  oak  ;  the  character 
of  a  child  exists  as  such  before  the  physical  form  of  the 
child  is  born  into  the  world,  and  attracts  from  the  spiritual 
atmosphere  the  elements  to  which  its  aspirations  and 
tendencies  are  attracted.  Each  seed  will  grow  best  in  the 
soil  that  is  best  adapted  to  its  constitution,  each  human 
monad  existing  in  the  subjective  state  will  be  attracted  at 
the  time  of  its  incarnation  to  parents,  whose  qualities  may 
furnish  the  best  soil  for  its  own  tendencies  and  inclinations, 
and  whose  moral  and  mental  attributes  may  correspond  to 
its  own.  The  physical  parents  cannot  be  the  progenitors 
of  the  spiritual  germ  of  the  child,  that  germ  is  the  product 
of  a  previous  spiritual  evolution,  through  which  it  has 
passed  in  connection  with  former  objective  lives.  In  the 
present  existence  of  a  being  the  character  of  the  being  that 
will  be  its  successor  is  prepared. 

Therefore,  every  man  may  be  truly  said  to  be  his  own 
father ;  for  he  is  the  incarnated  result  of  the  personality 
which  he  evolved  in  his  last  life  upon  the  planet,  and  the 
next  personality  which  he  will  represent  in  his  next  visit 
upon  this  globe  is  evolved  by  him  during  his  present  life. 

The  development  of  a  plant  reaches  its  climax  in  the 
development  of  the  seed ;  the  development  of  the  animal 
body  reaches  its  climax  in  the  capacity  to  reproduce  its 
form,  but  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  development  of  a 
man  may  go  on  long  after  he  has  acquired  the  power  of 
reproduction,  and  it  may  not  have  reached  its  climax  when 
the  physical  form  is  on  the  downward  path,  and  ceases  to 
live.  The  condition  of  the  physical  body  may  undoubtedly 
furnish  facilities  for  the  development  of  character  in  the 
same  sense  as  a  good  soil  will  furnish  facilities  for  the 
growth  of  a  tree ;  but  the  best  soil  cannot  transform  a 
thistle  into  a  rose-bush,  and  the  son  of  a  good  and  intel- 
lectual man  may  be  a  villain  or  a  dunce. 

As  a  primordial  essence  proceeds  to  manifest  itself  in 
forms,  it  descends  from  the  universal  condition  to  general, 
special,  and  finally  individual  states.  As  it  ascends  again 
to  the  formless,  the  scale  is  reversed,  and  the  individual 
units  expand,  to  mingle  again  with  the  whole.  Life  on  the 
lowest  planes  manifests  itself  in  an  undifferen dated  con- 
dition ;  air  has  no  strictly  denned  shape ;  one  drop  of 


DIFFERENTIA  TION  OF  FORM.  109 

water  in  the  ocean  shares  an  existence  common  to  all 
other  drops ;  one  piece  of  clay  is  essentially  the  same  as 
another.  In  the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdom  the 
universal  principle  of  life  manifests  itself  in  individual 
form;  still  there  is  little  difference  between  individual 
plants,  trees,  animals,  and  men  belonging  to  the  same 
species,  and  the  peculiar  attributes  which  distinguish  one 
individual  form  from  another  cease  to  exist  when  the  form 
disappears.  That  which  essentially  distinguishes  one 
individual  from  another  is  independent  of  form,  and  exists 
after  the  form  has  ceased  to  live.  Distinctions  of  form  are 
perishable,  but  distinctions  of  character  remain ;  those 
attributes  which  raise  their  possessors  eminently  above 
the  common  level  begin  at  a  state  when  external  appear- 
ances cease  to  be  of  great  consequence.  Socrates  was 
deformed  and  yet  a  great  genius ;  the  size  of  Napoleon's 
body  was  not  at  all  in  proportion  with  the  greatness  of  his 
intellect.  Honor  and  fame  rise  above  the  grave  of  the 
form,  and  the  influence  of  great  minds  often  grows  stronger 
after  the  bodies  that  served  them  have  turned  to  dust. 
Strong  minds  expand  far  beyond  their  physical  form  while 
they  live.  They  do  not  die  when  the  form  disappears. 
Their  characters  continue  to  exist  and  may  reappear  upon 
the  earth. 

All  characters  may  become  reincarnated  or  reimbodied 
after  they  have  left  the  form,  but  if  an  individual  has  no 
specific  character  of  its  own,  the  common  character  belong- 
ing to  its  species  or  class  will  be  all  that,  after  leaving  the 
old  body,  can  enter  the  new.  If  an  individual  has  devel- 
oped a  specific  character  of  its  own,  that  distinguishes  it 
from  its  fellows,  that  individual  character  will  individually 
survive  the  dissolution  of  its  form,  because  the  law  that 
applies  to  the  whole,  or  to  the  class,  will  also  apply  to  the 
part.  A  drop  of  water  mixed  in  a  body  of  water  will 
become  dispersed  in  the  mass,  it  may  be  evaporated  and 
condensed  again,  but  it  will  never  again  be  the  same  drop  ; 
but  if  a  drop  of  some  ethereal  oil  is  mixed  with  the  water, 
and  the  whole  is  evaporated  in  a  retort,  it  will,  after  being 
condensed,  form  again  the  same  individual  drop  in  the 
mass.  A  high  character  may  lose  its  individuality  during 
life  and  sink  to  the  common  level,  but  if  it  has  established 
a  distinction  from  others,  its  individuality  will  survive  the 
death  of  the  form.  To  accomplish  a  change  of  character 


110  INDIVIDUALITY. 

an  individual  form  is  required,  to  build  up  an  individual 
form  a  character  must  exist. 

If  we  wish  to  produce  a  form  we  must  first  decide  upon 
its  character.  A  sculptor  who  would  aimlessly  cut  a  stone, 
without  making  up  his  mind  as  to  what  form  he  desired  to 
produce,  would  not  accomplish  anything  great.  The  form 
is  a  temple  of  learning  for  the  character,  in  which  the 
latter  gains  experience  by  passing  through  the  struggles  of 
life.  The  harder  the  struggle  the  faster  may  the  character 
of  the  individual  become  developed  ;  an  easy  life  may 
increase  the  size  of  the  form,  but  will  leave  the  character 
weak  ;  a  hard  struggle  may  weaken  the  form,  but  will 
strengthen  the  spirit.  Forms  grow  at  the  expense  of  other 
forms,  the  growth  of  character  induces  other  characters  to 
grow.  Forms  grow  weak  when  they  impart  their  own  sub- 
stance to  others,  characters  grow  stronger  while  they 
impart  to  others  their  strength.  Individuals  vampyrize 
each  other  as  long  as  they  require  material  forms,  but  a 
character  that  has  once  been  formed  finds  the  source  of 
its  strength  within  itself.  In  the  lowest  plane,  where  the 
physical  life-impulse  acts  very  slow,  an  isolated  form  may 
exist  for  a  considerable  time ;  a  stone  or  a  diamond  may 
last  for  ages,  because  the  consuming  fire  of  life  is  not  very 
active  in  them ;  but  in  forms  in  which  life  is  very  active, 
permanent  isolation  is  not  compatible  with  the  existence 
of  form.  The  higher  we  rise  in  the  scale  of  life  on  the 
physical  plane,  the  smaller  grows  the  possibility  of  endur- 
ing isolation.  An  isolated  scrub  pine  may  live  surrounded 
by  snow  and  ice  on  an  almost  bare  rock,  where  no  highly- 
organized  life  can  exist,  and  an  animal  life  may  live  a 
comparatively  isolated  existence  in  a  forest,  where  a  man 
would  soon  starve  to  death.  Life  in  forms  requires  other 
forms  to  feed  upon,  characters  are  self-existing,  they 
require  the  contact  with  other  characters  only  to  try  their 
own  strength,  and  as  they  grow  and  use  their  power  they 
increase  their  own  fortitude. 

The  attributes  which  constitute  character  are  formless ; 
they  may  be  expressed  in  a  form,  but  after  the  form  is 
dissolved  they  return  to  the  formless  again.  Abstract 
ideas,  such  as  "good,  evil,  wisdom,  power,  love,  hope, 
faith  and  charity,"  etc.,  have  no  forms,  but  they  may 
characterize  a  living  being  and  render  it  good  or  bad,  wise 
and  powerful,"  etc.  Still  such  qualities  do  exist,  even  if 


SELFISHNESS.  Ill 

they  are  not  manifest  in  forms  ;  forms  cannot  create  their 
own  attributes,  but  they  are  the  expressions  of  principles 
which  exist,  and  which  may  or  may  not  become  manifested 
in  forms. 

The  "  spirit,"  or  character,  is  the  originator  of  form,  the 
astral  forces  of  nature  are  the  architects,  and  the  physical 
plane  of  nature  furnishes  the  material  to  render  the  form 
substantial,  and  to  enable  it  to  come  into  contact  with  the 
physical  plane.  Thought  is  the  great  power  by  which 
forms  are  called  into  existence.  The  thoughts  of  a  person 
during  life  determine  the  tendencies  of  his  soul  while  in 
the  subjective  state,  and  these  tendencies  attract  other  in- 
fluences and  bring  him  again  into  contact  with  form.  An 
entity,  attracted  by  the  illusion  of  self,  may  fancy  itself  to 
be  something  distinct  and  isolated  from  the  universal  life, 
and  look  upon  all  other  existences  as  being  distinct  from 
the  whole.  From  this  illusion  arise  innumerable  other 
illusions.  From  the  sense  of  self  arises  the  love  of  self,  the 
desire  for  the  continuance  of  personality,  giving  rise  to 
greed,  avarice,  envy,  jealousy,  fear,  doubt  and  sorrow, 
pain  and  death,  and  to  the  whole  range  of  emotions  and 
sufferings,  which  frequently  render  life  miserable,  and 
afford  no  permanent  happiness.  If  a  person  is  miserable 
and  can  find  no  happiness  in  himself,  the  surest  and 
quickest  way  for  him  to  be  contented  is  to  forget  his  own 
personality,  and  to  live  in  others,  by  blending  his  own 
consciousness  with  that  of  some  others,  or  all.  By  feeling 
with  others  he  will  forget  his  own  self,  and  for  the  time 
being  cease  to  experience  the  sufferings  produced  by  the 
illusion  of  self.  A  person  who  lives  in  a  state  of  isolation 
on  the  emotional  plane  will  care  for  nothing  else  but  for 
his  own  personality.  He  concentrates  all  his  energies 
into  himself,  and  becomes  more  and  more  insignificant 
and  spiritually  small.  Gradually  he  will  sink  to  lower 
planes  of  thought,  becoming — so  to  say — more  and  more 
heavy  as  his  soul  becomes  dense  ;  and  if  once  the  down- 
ward impulse  is  given,  and  not  arrested,  he  will  sink  lower 
and  lower,  until  his  personality,  at  the  death  of  the  form, 
disappears  in  the  vortex  and  he  ceases  to  exist  as  a  man  in 
human  form,  having  already  during  life  ceased  to  exist  as 
a  man  in  a  human  character.  When  his  physical  body  is 
decayed  and  the  "  magnetic  body  "  dispersed,  the  remnant 
of  his  soul  elements  may  still  continue  to  exist.  Its  move- 


112  EMOTIONS. 

ments  will  be  guided  by  its  controlling  emotions,  it  will 
not  go  whither  it  chooses,  for  having  no  inteligence  it  can 
make  no  choice  ;  but  it  will  go  whither  it  is  attracted  by  its 
instincts,  until  its  energies  are  exhausted  and  it  ceases  to 
exist  as  a  form. 

Thus  the  animal  elements  of  a  man  who  was  during  his 
life  a  great  drunkard,  may  after  his  death  be  attracted  to 
another  living  drunkard  and  be  drawn  to  a  grog-shop ; 
those  of  a  lewd  person  seek  comfort  in  a  brothel,  those  of 
an  avaricious  person  stand  guard  over  his  buried  treasures, 
etc.,  etc. ;  and  all  such  remnants  may  have  a  certain 
amount  of  consciousness  and  memory  left,  and  may  be 
galvanized  back  temporarily  into  a  living  state  by  coming 
in  contact  with  a  medium.  Thus  endless  varieties  of 
spooks ',  ghosts,  vampires,  incubi,  succubi,  etc.,  may  come 
into  existence,  and  there  are  innumerable  accounts  given 
in  books  on  magic,  occultism  and  spiritualism,  to  illustrate 
such  facts. 

As  on  the  physical  plane,  so  on  the  astral  plane,  isolation 
produces  starvation.  An  emotion  to  be  kept  alive  must 
be  fed  by  corresponding  emotions,  else  it  will  devour  its 
possessor.  A  person  who  loves  another  person  or  object 
intensely,  and  cannot  gain  the  object  of  his  desire,  must 
transfer  his  love  upon  some  other  object,  or  he  may  perish 
in  the  attempt  to  suppress  it.  If  the  love  is  transferred  to 
a  higher  ideal  it  will  render  man  happy  ;  if  it  is  transferred 
to  a  lower  one  dissatisfaction  may  be  the  result.  Stored- 
up  anger  will  find  some  object  upon  which  to  spend  its 
fury,  else  it  may  produce  an  explosion  destructive  to  its 
possessor ;  tranquility  follows  a  storm.  The  "  black 
magician  "  who  attempts  to  kill  or  injure  another  person 
by  the  intensity  of  his  hatred,  projected  towards  that  per- 
son, may  be  killed  or  injured  by  the  intensity  of  the  force 
he  has  created,  and  which — if  it  is  not  sufficiently  strong 
to  effect  his  object — will  react  upon  himself.  Accumulated 
energy  cannot  be  annihilated,  it  must  be  transferred  to 
other  forms,  or  be  transformed  into  other  modes  of  motion  ; 
it  cannot  remain  forever  inactive  and  yet  continue^to 
exist.  It  is  useless  to  attempt  to  resist  a  passion  which 
we  cannot  control.  If  its  accumulating  energy  is  not  led 
into  other  channels  it  will  grow  until  it  becomes  stronger 
than  will  and  stronger  than  reason.  To  control  it,  it 
should  be  led  into  another  and  higher  channel.  Thus  a 


LUNATICS.  113 

love  for  something  vulgar  may  be  changed  by  turning  it 
into  a  love  for  something  high,  and  vice  may  be  turned 
into  virtue  by  changing  its  aim.  Passion  is  blind,  it  goes 
where  it  is  led  to,  and  reason  is  a  safer  guide  for  it  than 
the  instinct.  Love  for  a  form  disappears  with  the  death  of 
the  form,  or  soon  after ;  love  of  character  remains  even 
after  the  form  in  which  that  character  was  embodied 
ceased  to  exist. 

The  ancients  said  that  Nature  suffers  no  vacuum.  We 
cannot  destroy  or  annihilate  a  passion.  If  it  is  driven 
away  another  elemental  influence  will  take  its  place.  We 
should  therefore  not  attempt  to  destroy  the  low  without 
putting  something  in  its  place  ;  but  we  should  displace 
the  low  by  the  high ;  vice  by  virtue,  and  superstition  by 
knowledge. 

There  are  some  persons  who  live  in  perfect  isolation  on 
the  intellectual  plane.  They  are  such  whose  thoughts  are 
entirely  absorbed  by  intellectual  labors,  having  no  time 
or  inclination  to  attend  to  the  claims  of  their  spirit. 
They  are — so  to  say — living  continually  in  the  cupola  of 
their  temples,  the  head,  while  their  hearts  are  made  to 
starve  and  become  petrified.  They  concentrate  all  their 
intellectual  forces  into  their  brains,  and  may  become  very 
learned  in  regard  to  the  small  details  of  life  on  this  planet, 
but  while  they  concentrate  their  attention  upon  the  small, 
they  often  lose  their  capacity  to  enter  into  harmony  with 
the  whole.  Seen  from  the  standpoint  of  eternal  truth, 
they  are  lunatics,  living  in  the  moonshine  of  their  own 
imagination,  dawdling  away  their  life  among  the  realm  of 
illusions  and  perishing  form  and  neglecting  that  which  alone 
is  lasting  and  permanent.  They  constitute  to  a  great  extent, 
the  "materialists,"  "sceptics,"  and  "rationalists"  of  our 
age.  They  throw  away  their  birthright  to  immortality  by 
arguing  themselves  into  a  belief  in  its  impossibility,  they 
may  become  criminals  "for  the  sake  of  science,"  disregard- 
ing the  laws  of  humanity ;  their  astral  corpses  will 
continue  to  exist  for  a  while  after  the  death  of  their  physical 
forms,  until  the  intellectual  power  active  therein  is  exhaust- 
ed, but  their  spiritual  aspirations  having  already  deserted 
them  during  their  life,  there  will  be  nothing  left  of  them  in 
the  end  to  survive  the  dissolution  of  the  soul. 

All  forms  that  nature  produces  are  the  products  of 
universal  life  expressing  itself  in  forms.  They  are  manifes- 


II4  LIFE  TRANSFER. 

tations  of  the  One  in  Three,  but  as  such  they  do  not 
possess  any  life  of  their  own.  There  still  remains  the  un- 
manifested  One,  which  must  become  active  in  the  form  if 
the  form  is  to  live.  The  Three  rendered  alive  through  the 
One,  produces  the  Four,  and  Four  is  therefore  the  number 
of  perfection.  It  represents  the  square,  by  means  of 
which  the  Universe  is  constructed,  and  which  finds  its 
symbolic  expression  in  the  life-giving  influences  meeting 
from  the  four  cardinal  points,  North,  South,  East  and 
West. 

Life  is  universally  present  in  nature,  it  is  contained  in 
every  particle  of  matter,  and  only  when  the  last  particle  of 
life  is  departed  from  a  form  the  form  ceases  to  exist.  It 
may  remain  for  centuries  inactive  in  a  form,  but  when  it 
begins  to  manifest  itself,  motion  appears  in  the  form,  and 
the  higher  the  form  is  developed  the  higher  may  be  the 
activity  of  its  life.  Life  in  a  stone  does  not  appear  to  exist, 
and  yet  without  life  there  would  be  no  cohesion  of  its 
atoms.  If  the  life-principle  were  extracted  from  a  mineral 
its  form  would  be  annihilated.  A  seed  taken  from  the 
tomb  of  an  Egyptian  mummy  began  to  germinate  and 
grow  after  it  was  planted  in  the  earth,  having  kept  its  life- 
principle  during  a  sleep  of  many  centuries.  If  the 
activity  of  animal  life  could  be  correspondingly  arrested, 
an  animal  or  a  man  might  prolong  individual  existence  to 
an  indefinite  period.  Stones  may  live  from  the  beginning 
of  a  Manvantara  unto  its  end  ;  some  forms  reach  a  very 
old  age,  but  if  the  life  impulse  is  once  given  it  is  difficult — 
if  not  impossible — to  arrest  it. 

Life  may  be  transferred  from  one  form  upon  another, 
and  the  power  by  which  it  may  be  transferred  is  the  power 
of  Love,  because  Love, Will  and  Life  are  essentially  the  same 
power,  or  different  aspects  of  one,  in  the  same  sense  as  heat 
and  light  are  modifications  of  motion.  The  power  of  hate 
may  kill  and  the  power  of  love  has  been  known  to  call  the 
apparently  dead  back  to  life.  Love  is  a  restoration  of 
life  and  health,  more  powerful  than  all  the  drugs  of  the 
Pharmacopoeia,  and  it  is  the  universal  panacea  which  the 
true  physician  applies. 

Thus  the  sun  is  continually  transferring  his  life,  his  will 
and  his  love  to  this  globe  without  losing  anything  thereby. 
There  is  no  actual  loss  ;  but  merely  a  setting  in  motion  of 
vibrations  of  life  and  light  in  the  body  of  our  planet  by 


THE  WILL-CURE.  115 

the  central  will-fire  at  the  centre  of  our  system,  the  sun. 
There  are  thousands  of  people  sick,  because  the  sun  in 
them  is  grown  cold ;  they  cannot  make  up  their  minds  to 
be  well ;  they  cannot  form  that  firm  resolution,  which  is 
neceesary  to  set  the  will  at  their  own  centre  into  motion, 
so  that  its  vibrations  would  induce  life  and  health  in  all 
parts  of  their  system.  Their  disease  is  Infidelity.  They 
are  full  of  doubt,  uncertain  whether  they  ought  to  live  or 
to  die,  and  while  we  bemoan  their  miserable  condition, 
they  have  neither  the  courage  nor  the  will  to  be  well,  and 
instead  of  curing  themselves,  they  hire  a  doctor  to  amuse 
them  and  to  enable  them  to  remain  sick. 

Every  disease,  without  any  exception,  is  in  the  first 
instance  caused,  directly  or  indirectly,  by  a  weak  or 
perverted  will  or  a  disordered  imagination  ;  nor  could  it 
be  otherwise,  because  man  himself  and  the  world  wherein 
he  lives  is  a  product  of  will  and  imagination,  and  there  is 
nothing  else  but  these  two  factors  to  act  upon.  The  more 
external  the  disease  or  the  accident  is,  the  more  remote  is 
it  from  these  original  causes ;  but  even  an  external 
accident  is  due  to  a  disharmony  existing  between  the  will 
of  subject  and  object,  either  consciously  or  unconsciously 
expressed.  The  origin  of  the  majority  of  internal  diseases 
can  be  traced  to  some  emotion  of  the  will  or  to  some  in- 
harmonious thought,  to  some  irregular  desire  or  some  state 
of  the  mind,  conceived  either  by  the  patient  himself,  or 
impressed  upon  him  by  another. 

All  things  and  all  states  are  expressions  of  will  and 
thought.  People  get  sick,  because  they  unconsciously 
will  to  be  sick  and  this  unconscious  action  of  the  will  is 
induced  by  the  imagination.  If  being  sick  were  looked 
upon  as  a  disgrace  and  punished  by  the  law,  there  would  be 
far  less  sick  people  in  the  world.  The  more  the  comforts 
for  the  sick  are  increased  the  more  will  there  be  people 
who  need  them.  Many  a  man  who  hires  a  physician  for 
his  family  thereby  introduces  the  plague  into  his  house. 
With  the  issuing  of  each  diploma  that  creates  a  new  doctor, 
a  new  herd  of  infection  for  the  community  is  created, 
because  the  very  sight  of  a  doctor  makes  one  think  of 
disease  and  may  cause  disease,  while  there  are  thousands 
of  sick  persons  that  would  be  well  to-day  if  they  had  never 
found  it  to  be  convenient  to  be  sick. 

What  then  is  the  use  of  our  modern  system  of  quackery 


n6  TRAVELS  OF  THE  LIFE  PRINCIPLE. 

and  dosing  with  medicine,  be  it  legally  or  illegally  done, 
if  the  cause  of  disease  is  not  in  the  body,  but  in  the  will 
and  the  thought  of  the  patient  ?  When  will  humanity  arrive 
at  an  understanding  of  the  eternal  truth,  that  he  who  looks 
for  redemption  in  external  things  is  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment, while  man's  only  true  friend  and  redeemer  is  the 
God  whom  he  carries  within  himself,  nor  can  any  man  give 
to  another  the  life,  the  truth  or  the  Christ,  but  it  is  the  life, 
the  light  and  the  truth  itself  giving  itself  to  a  man 
through  the  instrumentality  of  those  that  have  been 
regenerated  in  the  life  and  light  of  the  spirit  of  truth.  A 
physician  or  a  preacher,  having  no  faith  in  the  power  of 
good,  and  no  self-consciousness  of  the  presence  of  God 
within  themselves,  but  are  full  of  conceit  in  regard  to  their 
own  learning  and  intellectual  accomplishment,  can  cure 
neither  the  ills  of  the  body  nor  those  of  the  souls,  they 
can  only  create  illusions  and  act  upon  the  imagination  of 
the  patient,  but  not  infuse  life  into  his  will.  They  are  not 
physicians,  but  clowns  and  reciters  of  stories  which  they 
themselves  do  not  believe. 

The  true  life-giving  power  rests  in  the  source  of  all 
Good.  "  In  him  is  life,  and  the  life  is  the  light  of  men."  * 
Through  its  influence  the  elements  composing  lower  forms 
of  existence  are  gradually  raised  into  higher  states.  It  is 
everywhere  present,  and  manifests  itself  wherever  a  form 
is  capable  to  respond  to  its  vibrations.  It  cannot  be 
found  by  vivisection  nor  by  chemical  analysis,  and  modern 
scientific  books  say  nothing  about  it  ;  yet  it  is  an  element 
in  which  and  through  which  we  all  live,  and  if  it  were 
withdrawn  from  us  for  a  single  moment  we  would  be 
immediately  annihilated. 

To  be  blind  to  the  existence  of  the  universal  source  of 
all  good,  is  to  be  blind  to  the  fact  that  is  apparent  every- 
where, that  grasses  and  trees,  animals  and  men,  live  and 
grow.  Without  the  power  of  life  nothing  living  could 
come  into  existence.  Truly  the  children  speak  a  great 
truth  when  they  say  that  "  God  made  the  grass  grow  ;  " 
but  the  learned,  who  cannot  conceive  of  anything  that 
transcends  their  sensual  perception,  cannot  rise  to  the 
sublime  conception  of  a  universal,  supreme,  and  therefore 
divine  power.  Our  Materialistic  philosophers  desire  to 

*  St.  John  i,  4 


GROWTH,  117 

abolish  their  "  God ; "  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  will 
succeed,  for  the  god  of  which  they  conceive  is  impotent. 
The  supreme  power  of  life  in  the  universe  is  beyond  con- 
ception, this  they  cannot  abolish ;  an  attempt  to  destroy 
it  would  have  to  begin  with  their  own  annihilation. 

Life  is  a  manifestation  of  power,  a  function  of  the  un- 
imaginable cause  of  all  existence.  It  must  be  a  substan- 
tial principle,  else  it  could  not  exist,  because  no  activity 
can  take  place  without  substance.  It  has  no  forms,  but  is 
manifested  in  forms ;  it  continually  advances  from  lower 
to  higher  forms,  and  as  it  advances  the  character  of  forms 
advances  with  it.  The  building  of  the  "  Temple  of 
Solomon"  goes  on  unceasingly.  Invisibly  act  the  elements 
of  nature,  the  master  builders  of  the  universe.  Life 
inhabits  a  form,  and  when  the  form  is  decayed  it  gathers 
the  elements  and  builds  itself  a  new  house.  A  rock, 
exposed  to  the  action  of  wind  and  rain,  begins  to  decay 
on  its  surface,  the  elements  gather  again  and  appear  in  a 
new  form.  Minute  plants  and  mosses  grow  on  the  surface, 
living  and  dying  and  being  reborn,  until  the  soil  accumu- 
lates and  higher  forms  come  into  existence.  Centuries 
may  pass  away  before  this  part  of  the  work  is  completed  j 
but  finally  grasses  will  grow,  and  the  life  that  was  formally 
dormant  in  a  rock  now  manifests  itself  in  forms  capable  to 
enter  the  animal  kingdom.  A  worm  may  eat  a  plant,  and 
the  life  of  the  plant  becomes  active  and  conscious  in  a 
worm  ;  a  bird  may  eat  the  worm,  and  the  life  that  was 
chained  to  a  form  crawling  in  darkness  and  filth  now 
partakes  of  the  joys  of  an  inhabitant  of  the  air.  At  each 
step  on  the  ladder  of  progression  life  acquires  new  names 
to  manifest  its  activity,  and  the  death  of  its  previous  form 
enables  it  to  step  into  a  higher  one.  The  principle  of  life 
is  not  changed  thereby,  nor  is  the  sun  changed  when  he 
sends  his  rays  upon  the  earth.  A  piece  of  black  iron  is 
rendered  luminous,  if  exposed  to  heat,  but  remains  iron 
for  all  that.  Not  the  iron  produces  the  light  nor  the  form 
the  life,  but  the  former  manifest  themselves  according  to 
the  qualites  of  the  latter. 

Forms  are  nothing  but  symbols  of  life,  and  the  higher 
the  life  expresses  itself  the  higher  will  be  the  form.  An 
acorn  is  an  insignificant  thing  compared  with  the  oak,  but 
it  has  a  character,  and  through  the  magic  action  of  life  it 
may  develop  into  an  oak  The  germ  of  its  individual  life 


Ii8  ELIXIR  OF  LIFE. 

is  incarnated  in  the  acorn,  and  forms  the  point  of  attrac- 
tion for  the  universal  principle  of  life.  Its  character  is 
already  formed,  and  if  it  grows  it  can  become  nothing  else 
but  an  oak.  Buried  in  the  earth  it  may  grow  and  develop 
from  a  low  into  a  higher  state  through  the  influence  of  the 
highest,  because  the  principle  of  life  is  contained  in  it. 
But  however  great  its  potency  for  growth  may  be,  still  it 
cannot  germinate  without  the  life-giving  influence  of  the 
universal  fountain  of  life  reaching  it  through  the  power  of 
the  sun,  and  the  sun  could  not  make  it  grow  unless  the 
principle  of  life  were  contained  in  the  germ. 

The  rays  of  the  sun  penetrate  from  their  airy  regions  to 
the  earth ;  their  light  cannot  enter  the  solid  earth, which  pro- 
tects the  tender  seed  or  a  plant  from  the  fiery  rays,  whose 
activity  might  destroy  its  inherent  vitality.  But  the  seed 
is  touched  by  the  heat  that  radiates  into  the  earth,  and  a 
special  mode  of  life  manifests  itself  in  the  seed.  This 
life  is  not  a  new  creation,  but  it  is  The  Absolute  becoming 
manifest  in  a  form.  The  seed  begins  to  sprout,  and  the 
germ  struggles  towards  the  source  of  the  life-giving 
influence,  and  strives  towards  the  light.  The  roots  have 
no  desire  for  light,  they  only  crave  for  nutriment,  which 
they  find  in  the  dark  caverns  of  matter.  They  penetrate 
deeper  into  the  earth,  and  may  even  absorb  the  activity  of 
the  higher  parts  of  the  plant.  But  if  the  latter  belongs  to 
a  species  whose  character  it  is  to  grow  towards  the  light, 
its  nobler  portions  will  enter  its  sphere,  and  may  ultimate- 
ly bear  flowers  and  fruits. 

The  soul  of  man  being  buried  in  matter,  perceives 
instinctively  the  life-giving  influence  of  the  supreme  spirit- 
ual sun,  while  at  the  same  time  it  is  attracted  by  matter. 
If  man's  whole  attention  is  attracted  to  the  claims  of  his 
body,  if  all  his  aspirations  and  desires  are  directed  to 
satisfy  the  desire  of  his  material  form,  he  will  himself  remain 
a  thing  of  earth,  incapable  to  become  conscious  of  the 
existence  of  Light.  But  if  he  strives  for  Light,  and  opens 
his  soul  to  its  divine  influence,  he  will  enter  its  sphere  and 
become  conscious  of  its  existence.  A  time  will  arrive 
when  matter  will  lose  its  attractions  for  him,  and  as  the 
odor  of  the  flower  can  exist  after  the  flower  and  the  roots 
from  which  the  latter  drew  its  nutriment  have  ceased  to  live, 
so  will  the  character  of  that  man,  even  after  his  physical 
body  has  continued  to  exist,  consciously  survive,  and 


ELIXIR  OF  LIFE.  119 

having  followed  the  attraction  of  the  immortal  law,  become 
himself  one  with  the  law,  and  be  rendered  immortal. 

The  true  Elixir  of  life  can  only  be  found  at  the  eternal 
fountain  of  life.  It  springs  from  the  seventh  principle, 
manifesting  itself  as  spiritual  power  in  the  sixth  and  shed- 
ding its  light  down  in  the  fifth,  illuminating  the  mind.  In 
the  fifth  it  is  manifest  as  the  intellectual  power  in  man, 
radiating  down  into  the  fourth  and  controlling  by  the 
power  of  Reason  the  turbulent  elements  of  the  latter.  In 
the  fourth  it  creates  desires,  calling  forth  life  and  instincts 
in  the  lower  triad,  and  thereby  enabling  the  forms  to  draw 
the  elements  which  they  need  from  the  storehouse  of 
nature.  It  forever  calls  men  to  life  by  the  voice  of  truth, 
whose  echo  is  the  power  of  intuition  crying  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  our  hearts,  baptizing  the  souls  with  the  water  of 
hope,  and  pointing  out  to  them  the  true  spirit  which, 
coming  to  consciousness  in  their  heart,  may  baptize  them 
with  fire  and  knowledge,  and  initiate  them  into  the  eternal 
life. 


CHAPTER   V. 

HARMONY. 

"  Let  no  one  enter  here  who  is  not  well  versed  in  mathematics  and 
music . " — Pythagoras, 

"To  listen  to  the  music  of  the  spheres"  is  a  poetical 
expression,  but  it  expresses  a  great  truth ;  because  the 
Universe  is  filled  with  harmony,  and  a  soul  who  is  in 
full  harmony  with  the  soul  of  the  universe  may  listen  to 
that  music  and  undesrtand  it.  The  world  as  well  as  man 
resemble  musical  instruments,  in  which  every  string  should 
be  in  perfect  order,  so  that  no  discordant  notes  may  be 
sounded.  We  may  look  upon  matter  on  the  physical 
plane  as  a  state  of  low  vibration  and  upon  spirit  as  the 
highest  vibration  of  life,  and  between  the  two  poles  are 
the  intermediary  principles  constituting  the  grand  octave 
called  Man. 

A  more  exact  study  of  the  laws  of  harmony  will  undoubt- 
edly give  us  a  deeper  insight  into  the  laws  which  govern 
the  functions  of  the  principles  of  which  Nature  and  man 
are  composed.  Woman  is  the  image  of  Man,  representing 
Man's  beauty  and  will,  while  the  male  part  of  humanity 
is  to  represent  reason  and  strength,  but  neither  can 
continue  to  exist  without  the  other,  and  neither  a  male  nor 
a  female  being  is  perfect.  Only  that  being  is  perfect  in 
which  the  male  and  female  elements  are  united. 

That  which  saves  the  male  portions  of  mankind  from 
becoming  brutes  is  the  remnants  of  the  female  principle, 
still  left  in  Adam  when  Eve  was  created  out  of  "one  of 


THE  ETERNAL   VIRGIN.  121 

his  ribs."  That  which  constitutes  the  true  woman  is  the 
eternal  divine  female  principle,  the  eternal  virgin,  in  her. 
That  which  brings  woman  near  to  the  semi-animal  male  and 
which  makes  her  discernible  to  him,  is  the  male  elements  con- 
tained in  her  human  organization.  A  man  without  any  female 
elements  in  him  would  be  a  devil,  a  woman  without  any 
male  elements  would  be  an  angel,  but  could  not  live  upon 
a  gross  material  planet  such  as  the  earth. 

The  Moll  accord  is  the  harmonious  counterpart  of  the 
TJur  accord  ;  but  it  has  been  proved  that  the  existence  of 
a  family  of  w0//-accords,  existing  independently  of  dur- 
accords,  and  running  in  parallel  lines  with  the  latter,  is  an 
impossibility.  The  most  beautiful  sound  is  not  a  single 
sound,  but  an  accord  of  three.  Such  an  accord  is  like  a 
mental  conception,  which — for  the  purpose  of  realizing  its 
existence  as  a  unity — has  to  pass  through  three  phases  of 
consciousness ;  viz  :  i.  that  of  being  one  with  itself ;  2. 
that  of  being  different  from  itself ;  and  3.  that  of  con- 
ceiving that  these  two  states  are  only  one. 

Nature  is  the  product  of  a  cause,  and  everything  in 
nature  is  ruled  by  the  law  of  cause  and  effect.  There  can 
be  no  arbitrary  ruler  in  the  universe,  and  even  if  there 
were  such  a  ruler,  his  decisions  would  be  the  effects  of  the 
action  of  his  mind,  and  the  actions  of  his  mind  would  be 
determined  by  pre-existing  causes,  and  he  would  therefore 
be  subject  to  law.  A  being  that  is  not  subject  to  law  is 
an  unimaginable  monster  that  cannot  exist,  because  all 
beings  come  into  existence  through  the  law  of  cause  and 
effect,  and  nothing  can  be  without  having  come  into 
existence  ;  only  the  eternal  law  itself,  which  is  no-thing, 
self-existent,  and  absolute. 

Here  it  might  be  objected,  that  the  law  could  not  exist, 
if  there  was  not  a  cause  of  the  law,  in  other  words,  a  law- 
giver ;  and  such  would  be  the  case,  if  we  had  to  deal  with 
arbitrary  laws ;  but  the  eternal  law  of  cause  and  effect 
requires  no  law-giver ;  because  it  is  eternal  and  therefore 
self-existent.  Each  being  is  subject  to  that  law,  because 
each  is  a  product  of  it.  The  law  of  cause  and  effect  calls  all 
beings  into  existence;  but  the  law  itself  is  not  &  firing,  and 
if  man  enters  the  state  of  Nirvana,  he  ceases  to  be  subject 
to  the  law ;  because  as  he  is  then  one  with  the  law,  he  is 
the  law,  and  cannot  be  subject  to  any  other  law  but  him- 
self, and  has  ceased  to  be  a  "  being." 


122  KARMA. 

Man  is  a  being  and  exists  in  the  world,  having  come 
into  existence  according  to  the  law  of  cause  and  effect. 
The  form  and  quality  of  his  body  depend  on  the  physical 
conditions  under  which  he  was  born ;  the  state  of  his  soul 
depends  on  the  astral  influences  that  concentrated  their 
power  upon  him  in  consequence  of  his  affinity ;  his 
character  depends  on  the  causes  created  during  his 
previous  existence,  and  these  causes  constitute  his  Karma, 
of  which  he  himself  is  the  creator.  Man  is  himself  a 
product  of  the  law  of  cause  and  effect,  and  in  all  depart- 
ments of  nature  the  effects  produced  are  always  in  exact 
proportion  to  the  causes  that  produced  them.  If  we  knew 
the  causes  well,  we  could  easily  calculate  their  effects. 
Each  thought,  each  word,  each  act  creates  a  cause,  which 
acts  directly  on  the  plane  to  which  it  belongs,  creating 
there  new  causes,  which  react  again  upon  the  other  planes.* 
A  thought  is  a  mental  state  that  may  be  expressed  in  a 
word,  and  the  word  may  be  made  effective  by  an  act.  An 
act  is  the  expression  (the  word)  of  a  thought.  Every  form 
in  nature  has  a  threefold  constitution,  every  symbol  a  three- 
fold meaning,  every  perfect  act  is  a  trinity.  To  perform 
an  action  three  factors  are  necessary  :  the  actor,  the  act, 
and  the  object  acted  on.  To  constitute  a  complete  act 
three  factors  again  are  required  :  the  motive,  the  will,  and 
the  performance.  A  motive  or  thought  which  finds  no 
expression  in  an  act  will  have  no  direct  result  on  the  phy- 
sical plane,  but  it  may  cause  great  emotion  in  the  sphere  of 
mind,  and  these  may  again  react  on  the  physical  plane. 
The  best  intention  will  produce  no  visible  effect  unless  it 
is  put  into  execution  ;  but  intentions  produce  certain  men- 
tal states,  that  may  be  productive  of  actions  at  some  time 
in  the  future.  The  performance  of  an  act  will  have  an 
effect,  no  matter  whether  it  was  premeditated  or  not,  but 
an  act  without  a  motive  will  not  directly  affect  the  planes 
of  thought.  Such  an  act  is  the  result  of  insanity,  and 
imposes  no  moral  responsibility  upon  the  performer,  but  it 
will,  nevertheless,  have  its  effects  on  the  physical  plane 
that  may  react  upon  the  mind. 


*  Paracelsus  explains  how  the  morbid  imagination  of  man  may  create 
states  in  the  mental  atmosphere  which  poison  the  imagination  of  nature, 
and  how  by  a  reaction  of  the  Universal  Soul  upon  the  soul  of  man, 
epidemic  diseases  come  into  existence. 


MICROCOSMOS  AND  MACROCOSMOS.  123 

From  the  causes  created  on  the  physical,  astral,  and 
spiritual  planes  innumerable  combinations  of  effects  come 
into  existence,  creating  new  causes,  that  are  again  followed 
by  effects,  and  every  force  that  is  put  into  action  on  either 
plane  continues  to  act  until  it  is  exhausted  by  transforma- 
tions into  other  modes  of  action,  when  its  vibrations  will 
be  changed  ;  to  others,  and  the  previous  effects  will  cease 
to  exist. 

It  is  highly  interesting  to  study  the  actions  of  the  law  of 
cause  and  effect  on  the  various  planes  of  existence.  By 
the  threefold  action  of  that  law,  as  thought ,  will,  and 
performance,  on  the  physical,  emotional,  intellectual,  and 
spiritual  planes,  a  great  many  varieties  ensue  which  give 
rise  to  endless  modifications  and  varieties,  and  again 
produce  innumerable  secondary  causes,  which  again  pro- 
duce effects.  For  instance,  a  good  act  performed  on  the 
physical  plane  with  an  evil  thought,  or  an  evil  act  performed 
with  a  good  motive,  or  a  good  act  with  a  good  motive,  or 
an  evil  act  with  an  evil  thought,  produces  certain  effects 
upon  one  plane,  while  the  motive  affects  another  plane,  and 
they  both  react  upon  higher  planes,  and  there  results  are 
produced  which  react  again  upon  the  lower  planes,  and  at 
last  the  actions  of  the  law  of  Karma  will  become  so  com- 
plicated, that  it  is  impossible  to  follow  it  into  its  details. 
Nor  is  it  necessary  that  we  should  do  so ;  for  we  should 
not  do  good  as  a  matter  of  speculation  and  for  the  purpose 
of  acquiring  good  Karma;  but  we  should  do  good, 
because  we  love  good  on  account  of  its  goodness. 

Man  is  not  a  being  whose  existence  is  separated  from 
nature,  but  an  integral  part  thereof.  Heat  and  cold, 
sunshine  and  storms  on  the  physical  plane,  affect  his 
body,  the  elemental  forces  of  nature  act  upon  his  soul,  and 
the  influence  of  the  universal  spirit  radiates  to  his  centre. 
Likewise  man  reacts  upon  the  whole.  By  his  physical 
labor  he  changes  the  face  of  the  Earth,  acting  sometimes 
as  a  creator  and  at  other  times  as  a  destroyer  of  forms ; 
his  emotions  produce  currents  in  the  soul  of  the  world  that 
give  rise  to  new  causes  in  the  invisible  realm,  which  again 
react  upon  the  physical  plane.  His  imagination  may 
create  thought-germs,  that  may  in  the  course  of  time  find 
expression  in  physical  forms,  his  passions  may  give  rise  to 
epidemic  diseases,*  his  collective  and  accumulative 

•  Paracelsus :  "  De  Origine  Morborum  Invisibilium." 


134  DISHARMONIES,  ' 

energies  lead  to  convulsions  in  nature,  and  if  harmony 
is  restored  in  the  universal  Man,  nature  will  be  restored  to 
harmony. 

The  discords  in  nature  are  produced  by  imperfect  man. 
Having  tasted  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  he  has  learned  to 
oppose  his  individual  will  to  the  order  existing  in  nature, 
and  he  will  continue  to  suffer  the  consequences  of  his  sins 
until  he  recognizes  the  superiority  of  the  All  to  that  of  the 
individual,  and  uniting  his  will  with  that  of  the  whole,  ends 
the  conflict  of  separate  interests,  and  thereby  restores  the 
unity  and  harmony  of  the  whole. 

Originally  eternal  nature  was  an  harmonious  whole,  in 
which  discords  were  created  by  a  separation  of  interests 
among  its  constituents  and  an  opposition  of  their  individual 
wills  to  the  will  of  the  whole.  In  the  beginning  the 
universal  will,  radiating  from  the  centre,  became — so  to 
say — reversed  in  the  action  of  its  surface  rays,  and  there- 
by the  sphere  of  illusions  came  into  existence  at  the 
periphery  sphere  representing  the  visible  world.  But  at 
the  centre  there  still  exists  the  immeasurable  power  of  the 
uniform  law,  where  light  penetrates  through  the  clouds  that 
surround  the  spiritual  sun.  These  clouds  constitute  the 
world  of  illusions,  and  the  action  of  this  law  can  be  per- 
ceived in  every  form  of  activity  in  all  departments  of 
nature. 

Plato  wrote  over  the  door  of  his  academy :  "  Let  no 
one  enter  here  unless  he  is  well  versed  in  mathematics ; " 
and  Pythagoras  demanded  the  additional  knowledge  of 
music.  They  meant  to  say  that  he  who  wishes  to  investi- 
gate the  hidden  mysteries  of  nature  must  be  able  to  draw 
logical  conclusions  from  his  observations  and  attune  his 
soul  to  the  divine  harmonies  of  the  universe. 

Nature  is  still  a  Unity,  and  every  part  of  it  stands  in  a 
certain  definite  relation  to  the  whole;  nothing  is  left  to 
chance.  Everything  has  its  number,  measure,  and  weight, 
and  there  is  nothing  in  nature  which  is  not  ruled  by 
mathematical  laws.  Suns  and  stars  have  their  periodical 
revolutions.  The  molecules  of  bodies  combine  in  certain 
proportions,  known  to  chemistry,  and  in  all  events  on  the 
physical  plane  as  well  as  in  the  realm  of  the  emotions  a 
certain  regularity  and  periodicity  has  been  observed. 
There  are  regular  hours  for  the  appearance  of  day  and 
night,  fixed  intervals  for  spring  and  summer,  autumn  and 


MAGIC  NUMBERS.  125 

winter,  for  ebbs  and  tides  in  the  ocean  and  in  the  waters 
constituting  the  soul.  The  physiological  and  anatomical 
changes  in  animal  forms  occur  at  fixed  periods,  and  even 
the  events  of  life  take  place  according  to  certain  occult 
laws;  because,  although  man's  actions  seem  to  be  free,  yet 
his  actions  are  caused  by  his  will,  and  his  will  is  influenced 
by  his  mental  states,  which  are  again  the  effects  of  still 
deeper  causes  that  find  their  origin  in  the  supreme  law. 

The  followers  of  Pythagoras  knew  every  process  in 
nature  to  be  regulated  by  certain  numbers,  which  are  as 
follows : 

3  9       '5       45 

4  1 6       34      i36 

5  25       65      325 

6  36      in      666 

7  49      J75     I225 
64      260     2080 

9      81      369     3321 

This  table  represents  a  succession  of  numbers,  which  are 
obtained  by  the  construction  of  Tetragrams  or  magic 
squares,  and  it  was  believed  that  by  the  use  of  these 
numbers  every  effect  could  be  calculated  if  the  original 
number  referring  to  the  cause  were  known.  If  everything 
has  a  certain  number  of  vibrations,  and  if  these  vibrations 
increase  or  diminish  at  a  certain  ratio  and  in  regular 
periods,  a  knowledge  of  these  numbers  will  enable  us  to 
predict  a  future  event. 

Every  person  has  a  certain  number  that  expresses  his 
character,  and  if  we  know  that  number,  we  may,  by  the 
use  of  the  magic  squares,  calculate  certain  periodical 
changes  in  his  mental  and  emotional  states,  which  may 
induce  him  to  make  certain  changes  in  his  outward  con- 
ditions, and  in  this  way  we  may,  perhaps,  calculate 
approximately  the  time  when  some  important  changes  may 
take  place  in  his  career.  But  as  the  numbers  of  men  are 
known  only  to  the  enlightened,  who  do  not  require  such 
calculations,  these  magic  squares  are  at  present  of  little 
practical  value,  and  of  none  whatever  for  the  purpose  of 
"fortune-telling,"  or  to  satisfy  idle  curiosity  in  regard  to 
future  events. 

This  law  of  periodicity  is,  however,  an  universal  law, 
and  an  attention  to  it  may  lead  to  some  important  dis- 


126  SEVEtf. 

coveries.  Its  actions  have  long  ago  been  known  to  exist 
in  the  vibrations  producing  light  and  sound,  and  it  has 
recently  been  recognized  in  chemistry*  by  experiments 
tending  to  prove  that  all  so-called  simple  elements  are  only 
various  states  of  vibrations  of  one  primordial  element, 
manifesting  itself  in  seven  principal  modes  of  action,  each 
of  which  may  be  sub-divided  into  seven  again.  The  differ- 
ence which  exists  between  so-called  single  substances 
appears,  therefore,  to  be  no  difference  of  substance  or 
matter,  but  only  a  difference  of  the  function  of  matter  or 
in  the  ratio  of  its  atomic  vibration. 

The  occultists  of  all  ages  have  looked  upon  the  Seven 
as  being  a  sacred  number.  The  religious  books  of  the 
East  speak  of  seven  emanations  of  Parabrahm ;  and  there 
is  a  sufficient  number  of  passages  in  the  Apocalypse  and  in 
other  parts  of  the  Bible  to  make  it  appear  that  the  relation 
which  this  mysterious  number  bears  to  the  construction  of 
the  universe  has  not  escaped  the  attention  of  the  Christian 
Fathers. 

The  ancient  philosophers  believed  that  there  were  seven 
planets  in  our  solar  system,  and  modern  scientists  base 
their  claims  of  their  superiority  over  the  ancient  astrono- 
mers upon  the  fact  that  they  have  discovered  more  planets 
and  asteroids  than  were  known  in  ancient  times. 

Eternal  truths  which  are  cognizable  to  the  spiritual  per- 
ception of  the  illuminated  of  to-day  must  be  the  same  that 
were  seen  by  seers  thousands  of  years  ago,  because  such 
truths  do  not  change,  neither  can  a  true  spiritual  perception 
make  any  mistakes.  It  is,  therefore,  probable  that  if  the 
exoteric  doctrines  of  the  ancients  spoke  of  seven  planets, 
the  esoteric  meaning  was  that  there  existed  six  planetary 
spheres,  which,  including  the  central  sphere,  produce  seven. 
According  to  the  prevailing  opinion  in  regard  to  the  nebular 
theory,  our  planetary  system  has  been  evolved  from  the 
original  substance  (fire-mist)  that  constituted  the  body  of 
the  sun,  forming  an  immense  sphere,  extending  beyond  the 
orbit  of  Neptune.  If  we  imagine  in  a  sphere  a  centrifugal 
force  radiating  from  the  centre  towards  the  periphery,  and 
a  centripetal  force  acting  towards  the  centre,  there  will  be 
a  point  between  the  centre  and  the  periphery  where  the 

•  L.  B.  Hellenbach :  «  Die  Magie  der  Zahlem." 


THE  PLANETS.  127 

two  opposing  forces  meet.  At  that  point  their  straight 
motions  will  either  counteract  each  other  and  there  will  be 
a  stand-still,  or — what  is  more  probable — the  radial  force 
will  be  broken  and  transformed  into  a  revolving  motion 
around  a  new  centre  formed  at  the  place  of  contact.  In 
such  a  case  there  would  be  not  less  than  six  bodies  to 
enclose  the  seventh  on  all  sides. 

But  as  to  the  number  of  corporeal  planetary  bodies, 
visible  on  the  sky,  this  is  a  matter  belonging  to  the 
investigation  of  mundane  astronomy.  Occult  science 
deals  with  principles  ;  the  ultimate  outcome  of  the  expres- 
sions of  these  principles  in  corporeal  forms  is  a  matter  of 
secondary  importance. 

The  number  Seven  represents  the  scale  of  nature,  it  is 
represented  in  all  departments  of  nature,  from  the  radiant 
sun,  whose  light  is  broken  by  a  dewdrop  into  the  seven 
colors  of  the  rainbow,  down  to  the  snowflake  crystalizing 
in  six-pointed  stars  around  the  invisible  centre.  The  law 
of  seven  has  been  found  to  rule  in  the  development  and 
growth  of  vegetable  and  animal  organisms,  in  the  consti- 
tution of  the  Universe,  and  in  the  constitution  of  Man. 
Seven  is  the  rule  by  which  the  totality  of  existence  is 
measured,  but  Five  is  the  number  of  Harmony.  If  the 
fifth  note  in  the  musical  scale  is  in  accord  with  the  first 
and  the  third,  harmony  will  be  the  result.  There  are 
other  accords  which  are  harmonious,  but  the  most  perfect 
accord  is  caused  by  the  harmony  of  the  first,  the  third,  and 
the  fifth.  The  sounds  may  be  harmonious,  but  to  attain  a 
perfect  accord  a  third  one  is  required.  The  same  law 
rules  in  the  constitution  of  Man.  If  his  body  (his  first 
principle)  is  in  accord  with  his  instincts  (the  third),  he 
may  experience  pleasant  sensations,  but  full  harmony  and 
happiness  is  only  attained  when  his  fifth  principle  (his 
intelligence)  fully  assents  in  the  union  of  the  first  and  the 
third.  Other  parallels  may  be  drawn  between  the  musical 
scale  and  the  scale  of  principles  in  man,  and  it  will  be 
found  that  both  have  their  accords  in  /»0//and  in  dur  that 
correspond  to  each  other.  Each  man's  life  is  a  symphony, 
in  which  either  harmonious  or  discordant  tunes  may  pre- 
vail. 

The  power  by  which  harmony  is  produced  is  the  power 
of  Love.  Love  produces  harmony,  hate  causes  discord. 
Love  is  the  tendency  of  the  disunited  parts  of  one 


128  LOVE. 

principle  to  unite  again  into  one.  This  tendency  pre- 
supposes the  power  of  mutual  recognition,  recognition  is 
a  manifestation  of  consciousness,  consciousness  is  a  mani- 
festation of  life.  Life,  Love,  Consciousness,  Harmony,  are 
essentially  one,  the  opposite  of  which  is  discord  and  death. 
Why  do  some  notes,  if  sounded  together,  produce  harmony, 
if  not  on  account  of  the  similarity  of  the  elements  that 
compose  them  coming  to  the  consciousness  of  our  own 
mind  ?  Mutual  recognition  among  friends  causes  joy,  and 
joy  means  harmony,  happiness,  and  content. 

If  two  or  more  notes  of  exactly  the  same  kind  are 
sounded  together,  they  produce  neither  harmony  nor  dis- 
cord, they  simply  increase  their  own  strength.  They  are 
already  one,  and  no  relation  exists  between  them ;  but  if 
different  notes  are  struck,  each  containing  an  element  con- 
tained in  the  other,  each  sees  its  own  counterpart  repre- 
sented in  the  mirror  held  by  the  other,  and  this  recognition 
is  joy.  If  we  listen  to  beautiful  music  the  air  seems  filled 
with  life.  If  the  principle  of  harmony  exists  within  our- 
selves we  may  recognize  it  in  the  music,  and  it  becomes 
alive  in  our  soul.  A  discordant  being  may  listen  to  the 
most  beautiful  music  and  be  left  cold,  because  there  is  no 
harmony  within  his  own  soul. 

If  a  principle  becomes  conscious  of  its  own  existence 
in  another  form,  and  recognizes  its  beauty  in  that  form  in 
its  purity,  and  unalloyed  by  any  adulteration,  perfect  har- 
mony is  the  result.  If  two  or  more  things  contain  the 
same  element,  these  elements  are  justly  adapted  to  each 
other,  and  seek  to  unite,  because  they  are  constituted  alike  ; 
they  vibrate  together  as  one.  This  tendency  to  unite 
creates  Love,  which  manifests  itself  on  all  planes  of  exist- 
ence. The  planets  are  attracted  to  the  sun  and  to  each 
other,  because  they  all  contain  the  same  elements,  seeking 
to  reunite,  and  the  power  of  gravitation  is  nothing  else 
but  the  power  of  love.  Man  is  attracted  to  woman  and 
woman  to  man,  because  they  perceive  in  each  other  the 
elements  of  their  own  highest  ideal,  and  the  more  their 
common  ideal  becomes  manifest  in  each,  the  more  will 
they  love  each  other  and  be  fully  contented.  Man  and 
woman  can  only  truly  love  each  other  if  they  are  both 
either  consciously  or  unconsciously  attracted  by  the  same 
ideal.  This  ideal  may  be  high  or  low,  but  the  higher  it  is 
the  more  permanent  will  it  be,  and  the  greater  will  be  their 
mutual  happiness. 


UNITY  OF  PRINCIPLE.  129 

In  each  human  being  exist  certain  elements  which  are 
identical  with  those  existing  in  all  other  human  beings,  and 
therefore  one  with  the  latter.  Consequently,  individual 
man  only  appears  to  be  a  separate  being ;  while  in  fact  the 
whole  of  humanity  is  a  unity  and  one ;  it  is  merely  the 
outward  expression  of  the  Universal  Man,  which  is  mani- 
fest in  many  separate  human  forms.  The  dirtiest  beggar 
in  the  street,  the  most  vicious  criminal,  as  well  as  the 
greatest  king  or  queen  in  the  world,  is  myself  and  yourself, 
for  there  is  no  distinction  between  one  human  being  and 
another  in  the  fundamental  principle  which  constitutes  a 
human  being,  and  which  is  the  Universal  Man,  the  ter- 
restrial Adam  and  the  celestial  Christ. 

In  other  words  :  Mankind  is  only  one,  but  it  appears 
in  many  millions  of  various  masks,  and  sometimes  with 
very  inhuman  habits,  because  the  mask  which  the  forms 
wear  hinders  their  free  evolutions.  This  mask  is  the 
personality  of  each  man,  the  instrument  through  which 
Adam  acts,  and  which  is  full  of  imperfections.  He,  in 
whom  the  terrestrial  Adam  has  become  the  celestial  Adam, 
the  Chfrist,  sees  in  every  man  and  woman  not  only  his 
brother  or  sister,  but  his  own  self.  A  person  who  injures 
another,  injures  himself,  for  each  man  constitutes  a  power 
which  acts  upon  humanity,  and  the  good  or  evil  he  does 
will  return  to  himself. 

A  man  who  attempts  to  fall  in  love  with  himself,  or, 
with  other  words,  to  find  in  his  person  his  own  highest 
ideal,  will  never  succeed  in  being  contented  and  harmon- 
ious. A  man  who  seeks  to  recognize  himself  as  his  own 
highest  ideal  becomes  self-centred  and  vain.  His  love, 
instead  of  expanding  to  the  periphery  of  his  sphere,  will 
act  from  its  periphery  to  the  centre,  and  he  will  become 
spiritually  smaller  every  day.  But  the  man  or  the  woman 
who  seeks  the  realization  of  their  own  ideal  in  the  object 
of  their  love,  will,  if  they  find  it,  recognize  it  as  their  own 
self  which  they  always  possessed,  although  they  were  not 
aware  of  its  possession  until  they  found  it  in  another  form. 
He  who  possesses  the  truth  recognizes  it  wherever  he 
finds  it  in  others,  but  he  who  does  not  possess  it  cannot 
recognize  it.  Our  modern  age  often  rejects  the  highest 
truths  unless  they  bear  the  stamp  of  man-created  authority  : 
but  the  wise  recognize  the  truth  by  its  own  light. 

Light  is  darkness  unless  it  is  reflected  by  matter.   Light 


130  ATTRACTION. 

cannot  illuminate  itself,  but  it  illuminates  the  darkness,  and 
consequently  the  existence  of  light  depends  on  the  exist- 
ence of  matter.  Love  without  an  object  cannot  exist 
relatively.  A  person  in  love  with  himself  loves  nothing. 
Love,  attached  to  nothing,  exists  in  the  Absolute.  A  love 
being  attached  to  a  high  object  is  high,  and  if  it  is  attached 
to  a  low  object  it  is  low,  as  life  in  a  low  form  is  low,  and 
in  a  high  form  high ;  because  love,  and  life,  and  harmony 
are  the  functions  and  attributes  of  one  and  the  same 
principle  in  nature,  they  are  only  different  aspects  of  one 
universal  power.  Where  love  exists  there  is  life,  and  no 
life  can  endure  without  love,  and  the  more  the  love  expands 
over  all,  the  more  will  the  living  spiritual  power  of  man 
extend.  The  more  love  is  concentrated  upon  a  single 
object,  the  stronger  will  it  be  in  that  direction  and  infuse 
love  and  life  in  that  object,  and  the  more  it  is  divided 
among  different  objects,  the  more  will  its  power  be  dis- 
persed. 

Love,  to  be  strong,  must  be  pure  and  unalloyed  with 
selfish  considerations.  If  we  love  a  thing  on  account  of 
the  use  we  can  make  of  it,  we  do  not  in  reality  love  that 
thing,  but  ourselves.  Pure  love  has  only  the  well-being  of 
its  object  in  view,  it  does  not  calculate  profits,  and  is  not 
afraid  of  disadvantages  that  may  grow  out  of  its  love.  The 
intellect  calculates,  but  love  follows  the  law  of  attraction. 

Impure  love  is  no  love  at  all,  it  is  merely  attraction.  It 
is  weak,  and  does  not  enter  into  its  object ;  it  may  cause  a 
ruffle  on  the  soul  of  another,  but  does  not  penetrate  to  the 
centre.  Pure  love  penetrates  and  cannot  be  resisted, 
unless  it  is  opposed  by  another  love  of  equal  strength,  but 
streaming  in  another  direction.  The  most  potent  love 
potion  a  person  can  give  to  another  is  to  love  that  person 
without  any  selfish  object  in  view.  Such  pure  love  will 
infuse  itself  into  the  soul  of  the  beloved  and  call  forth 
corresponding  vibrations  of  love,  because  one  mode  of 
activity  gives  rise  to  similar  modes,  according  to  the  uni- 
versal law  of  induction. 

This  is  undoubtedly  true,  provided  that  the  love-germs 
in  the  soul  of  the  beloved  correspond  in  quality  to  those 
of  the  lover  and  are  reached  by  the  latter.  The  strongest 
sunshine  cannot  cause  any  plants  to  grow  in  a  soil  in 
which  the  seeds  of  the  latter  are  too  deeply  imbedded  to 
be  reached  by  the  heat  of  the  sun,  or  too  much  obstructed 


LOVE  CHARMS.  131 

by  weeds  to  grow.  Likewise  the  heart  is  the  soil  where 
psychic  germs  of  all  kinds  are  imbedded,  ready  to  unfold, 
if  accessible,  to  the  magic  power  of  love. 

If  you  wish  to  progress  on  the  road  to  perfection,  take 
lessons  in  love.  Learn  to  love  the  highest,  and  you  will 
be  attracted  by  it.  Seek  in  every  man  those  qualities 
which  appear  to  be  high,  and  cover  his  mistakes  by  charity 
and  love.  If  you  speak  ill  of  another  you  speak  ill  of 
yourself,  because  he  who  prominently  notices  the  faults 
of  another  must  have  the  elements  of  those  faults  in  him- 
self. A  vain  person  is  repulsed  by  the  vanity  of  another, 
a  liar  expects  from  others  the  truth,  a  thief  does  not  wish 
to  have  his  own  property  taken  away.  Virtues  attract 
each  other,  producing  harmony,  but  vices  repulse  each 
other,  and  discord  is  the  result. 

Each  man  is  a  mirror  in  which  every  other  man  may 
see  his  own  image  reflected,  either  as  he  is  or  as  he  may 
become  in  the  future,  for  in  every  human  soul  exist  the 
same  elements,  although  in  different  states  of  development, 
and  their  development  often  depends  on  external  conditions 
over  which  man  has  but  little  control. 

An  emotion  suppressed  and  forced  back  on  itself  may 
become  diseased  and  its  direction  perverted.  A  love 
which  is  neither  transformed  nor  fulfilled,  but  harbored  in 
the  heart,  creates  phantoms  and  hallucinations  just  as 
stagnant  water  develops  animal  life.  A  love  for  a  high 
ideal,  which,  instead  of  reaching  up  to  the  sphere  of  that 
ideal,  seeks  for  it  in  lower  spheres,  will  languish  and  starve 
or  be  attracted  to  lower  ideals  ;  but,  if  love  meets  its  cor- 
responding love,  harmony  will  be  the  result. 

Love  is  the  most  necessary  element  for  the  continuance 
of  life ;  there  is  no  life  without  love,  and  if  man  were  to 
cease  to  love  life  he  would  cease  to  live.  A  love  for  2 
higher  life  will  lead  men  to  a  higher  condition,  a  love  for  a 
lower  state  will  drag  them  down  to  a  low.  It  often  happens 
that  if  a  person's  love  for  a  high  ideal  does  not  meet  the 
object  which  it  desires,  it  transfers  its  love  upon  something 
that  is  low.  Old  females  without  any  offspring  often  trans- 
fer their  parental  affection  upon  some  favorite  cat  or 
dog,  and  there  are  men  who  buy  the  semblance  of  love 
when  no  genuine  love  can  be  had. 

Whenever  a  lower  vibration  is  not  entirely  out  of  harmony 
with  a  higher  one,  the  higher  vibration  may  accelerate  the 


132  INDUCTION. 

action  of  the  lower  one  and  bring  it  up  to  its  own  level,  in 
the  same  manner  as  a  bar  of  iron,  surrounded  by  an 
insulated  electric  wire,  may  have  electricity  induced  in  it, 
and  through  a  long-continued  and  powerful  action  of  the 
higher  vibrations  upon  the  lower  ones  even  the  involuntary 
actions  of  the  body,  such  as  the  movements  of  the  heart, 
may  become  subject  to  individual  will.  Two  strings  of  a 
musical  instrument  which  sound  not  entirely  out  of  har- 
mony, may,  by  being  sounded  together  for  a  certain  length 
of  time,  at  last  become  harmonious  ;  a  man  living  in  more 
refined  society,  which  is  not  too  far  above  his  moral  or 
intellectual  level,  will  become  more  refined,  servants  will 
ape  their  masters,  and  animals  take  some  of  the  lower 
characteristics  of  those  that  attend  to  them,  and  friends 
or  married  couples  being  continually  in  each  other's  com- 
pany may  finally  resemble  each  other  to  a  certain  extent. 

If  the  respective  rates  of  the  vibrations  of  two  substances 
are  entirely  out  of  harmony,  they  may  repel  each  other, 
and  abnormal  activity  or  excitement  follows.  The  animal 
body,  for  instance,  can  be  exposed  without  danger  to  a 
comparatively  high  degree  of  heat,  if  the  temperature  is 
gradually  raised  ;  while  an  even  lower  degree  of  heat  may 
be  very  injurious  if  applied  suddenly.  It  is  not  for  fancied 
reasons  that  the  occultist  abstains  from  Alcohol  and  from 
animal  food.  The  elements  of  such  substances  are  in  a  high 
state  of  activity,  and  by  coming  into  contact  with  the 
elements  of  the  blood,  they  stimulate  them  and  throw  them 
into  an  abnormal  state  of  vibration,  giving  rise  to  emotions 
on  the  astral  plane,  which  may  in  their  turn  affect  the 
higher  principles  in  man  in  an  undesirable  manner.  The 
same  is  the  case  with  other  substances,  whose  odic  emana- 
tions are  red,  while  those  emitting  blue  auras  are  of  a 
different  character ;  but  even  the  highest  elements  draw 
their  nourishment  indirectly  from  the  lowest  ones,  and  the 
old  saying  that  "a  sound  mind  needs  a  sound  body  to 
develop  in "  is  not  a  mere  fiction  ;  because,  although  a 
sound  brain  (the  instrument  of  the  Mind)  may  exist  in  an 
invalid  body,  still  robust  health  is  nevertheless  useful  and 
desirable,  and  it  is  important,  for  the  development  of  occult 
powers,  to  select  proper  food  and  follow  such  laws  of 
Hygiene  as  the  individual  may  require. 

11  What  may  be  one  man's  food,  will  be  another  man's 
poison  ; "  in  the  sphere  of  matter  as  well  as  in  the  sphere 


ANIMAL  FOOD.  133 

of  the  emotions.  Strong  constitutions  can  bear  strong 
food,  weak  minds  will  get  frightened  at  unwelcome  truths. 
Intemperance  in  food  and  drink  is  as  bad  as  intemperance 
in  emotion  ;  and  self-restraint  is  equally  necessary  on  both 
planes. 

No  man  has  ever  become  an  Adept  merely  because  he 
lived  on  vegetables  ;  a  vegetable  diet  is,  however,  much 
preferable  to  meat-eating  for  various  reasons.  Apart  from 
the  self-evident  fact  that  it  is  entirely  untheosophical  and 
opposed  to  the  divine  law  of  justice  that  he  who  strives 
after  the  attainment  of  a  higher  state  of  existence  should 
destroy  animal  life,  or  cause  others  to  destroy  it  for  the 
purpose  of  gratifying  his  animal  appetite,  it  will  be  plain  to 
every  one  who  investigates  the  laws  of  the  higher  life,  that 
the  loading  of  the  human  organism  with  animal  substances 
will  not  facilitate  its  penetration  by  the  light  of  the  divine 
spirit. 

Those  who  desire  to  become  more  spiritual  and  refined 
should  avoid  supplying  their  bodies  with  that  which  is 
gross  ;  those  who  desire  to  master  their  passions  should 
not  feed  themselves  with  substances  in  which  the  elements 
of  such  passions  reside;  those  who  wish  to  come  into  pos- 
session of  more  ethereal  forms  act  unwisely  if  they  supply 
the  latter  with  substances  which  must  necessarily  render 
them  more  gross,  and  material  and  dense,  and  thus  hinder 
the  free  movements  of  the  spirit  within.  Instances  may  be 
known,  where  a  person  has  attained  a  considerable  degree  of 
spiritual  development  in  spite  of  living  on  the  corpses  of 
animals  ;  but  such  instances  are  very  rare,  and  it  may  be 
said  without  hesitation  that  one  of  the  first  steps  to  the 
acquisition  of  spiritual  refinement  is  the  abandonment  of 
animal  food. 

A  great  variety  of  different  kinds  of  food  produces  dis- 
orders of  the  digestive  organs  and  impurities  of  the  blood  ; 
a  struggle  for  life  ensues  between  the  different  auras,  and 
excitement,  fever,  and  disease  is  the  result.  The  same 
law  explains  the  origin  of  venereal  and  cutaneous  diseases, 
and  in  the  astral  plane,  a  great  variety  of  emotions,  called 
into  existence  within  a  short  space  of  time,  may  render  a 
person  insane. 

Numerous  cases  of  severe  chronic  diseases  are  known 
to  have  been  cured  by  fasting — either  voluntary  or  en- 
forced. Man  actually  needs  but  Jittle  food.  Gluttony  is 
a  habit,  not  a  necessity. 


I34  INFECTIONS. 

Wherever  two  forces  of  an  entirely  opposite  charactei 
meet,  disharmony  will  be  the  result,  and  as  everybody  has 
his  own  peculiar  emanations  and  auras  and  transmits  them 
to  others,  so  everyone  receives  the  magnetic  auras  of  others 
or  of  the  locality  by  which  he  is  surrounded,  and  these 
emanations  may  be  either  wholesome  or  pestiferous  ;  men 
and  women  may  either  cure  or  poison  each  other  by  them, 
and  it  may  therefore  be  well  to  follow  the  advice  which 
Gautama  Buddha  gave  to  his  disciples,  and  eat  and  sleep 
alone. 

Many  people  are  very  careful  to  have  their  food  well 
prepared,  so  that  no  unhealthy  food  enters  the  body ; 
while  at  the  same  time  they  are  very  careless  as  to  what 
emotions  enter  their  mind  ;  because  they  fail  to  realize 
that  purity  of  the  emotions  is  as  necessary  as  purity  of  the 
body. 

A  strong  force  overcomes  a  weak  force,  and  a  stronger 
emotion  may  render  a  weaker  one  inactive.  If  the  strong 
emotion  is  high,  it  elevates  the  lower,  if  the  lower  one  is 
the  strongest,  degradation  is  the  result.  Cautiousness 
may  keep  combativeness  in  check  or  make  man  a  coward  ; 
but  without  cautiousness  combativeness  will  fly  off  at  a 
tangent,  and  rashness  and  disaster  may  be  the  result. 

The  higher  emotions  evolute  from  the  lower  ones,  and 
by  the  control  of  reason  vices  grow  into  virtues.  Intense 
love  of  self  may  expand  into  love  of  wife  and  friends,  or 
widen  still  more  into  a  love  of  country  or  a  love  of  human- 
ity. The  more  it  expands  the  more  it  becomes  refined. 

Nothing  in  the  universe  can  be  annihilated,  only  the 
form  can  be  changed.  An  emotion  cannot  be  killed,  but 
it  can  be  educated  up  to  a  higher  level. 

Purely  sexual  instinct  may  be  transformed  into  a  pure 
love  of  an  elevated  character  by  associating  with  a  person 
of  the  other  sex,  who  is  of  a  highly  moral  and  intellectual 
nature;  brutal  combativeness  may  be  purified  by  leading 
it  into  an  intellectual  channel,  where  the  pen  will  take  the 
place  of  a  cudgel  :  acquisitiveness  may  be  elevated  into  a 
craving  for  knowledge,  and  destructiveness  into  a  desire 
for  the  destruction  of  error. 

It  has  been  said  that  our  vices  are  the  ladder  on  which 
we  may  climb  up  to  heaven,  and  this  is  undoubtedly  true, 
because  the  only  effective  virtue  which  man  can  possess  is 
energy,  and  if  we  employ  our  energies  for  good  instead  of 


USE  OF  THE  PASSIONS.  135 

evil,  we  turn  our  vice  into  virtue  ;  but  he  who  possesses  no 
energy  is  equally  useless  for  good  as  he  is  for  evil. 

There  can  be  nothing  absolutely  wrong  in  employing 
the  natural  instincts  and  emotions  in  a  natural  and  legiti- 
mate manner ;  the  question  is  only  whether  such  an  em- 
ployment will  be  useful  for  the  purpose  we  have  in  view. 
If  we  have  a  sum  of  money  at  our  disposal,  we  have  a  right 
to  spend  it  for  pleasure,  or  to  buy  something  useful,  or  to 
throw  it  away.  In  the  same  manner  we  may  spend  our 
physical  forces,  our  vital  energies,  or  our  emotions,  for  the 
pursuit  of  useful  pleasures  or  for  the  purpose  of  our  higher 
evolution ;  but  as  we  cannot  expend  the  same  sum  of 
money  again  after  it  is  once  spent,  so  the  sum  of  energies 
expended  for  a  low  purpose  will  be  lost  for  the  higher 
object  in  view.  If  a  person  has  no  higher  object  in  view 
than  to  eat  and  drink,  sleep  and  propagate  his  species,  he 
may  be  thereby  rendered  perfectly  happy,  and  if  he  fol- 
lows the  dictates  of  his  nature,  there  can  be  nothing  wrong ; 
but  he  who  desires  to  assist  the  slow  process  of  nature  in 
developing  himself  into  an  immortal  being,  must  take  care 
not  to  waste  his  strength  on  lower  attractions  ;  and  in  the 
course  of  time  the  energies  which  produced  the  lower 
emotions  will  develop  into  not  less  strong  but  higher 
emotions ;  the  whole  of  the  lower  activity  will  be  trans- 
formed into  a  higher  one. 

Only  that  which  is  pure  can  be  harmonious. 

Singleness  of  purpose  renders  a  motive  pure,  but  a  variety 
of  purposes  causes  impurity.  If  a  person  devotes  himself 
to  a  certain  mode  of  life,  because  all  his  desires  are  directed 
towards  that  end,  his  motive  will  be  pure ;  but  if  he  has 
besides  other  objects  in  view,  his  motive  will  be  impure, 
and  may  defeat  his  aim. 

The  word  ll  asceticism  "  is  continually  misapplied.  A 
man  who  lives  in  a  convent,  or  as  an  hermit  in  the  wilder- 
ness, is  not  an  "  ascetic,"  if  he  has  no  desire  for  a  life  in 
the  world  ;  for  it  is  no  act  of  self-denial  to  avoid  that  which 
we  do  not  want.  "Asceticism"  means  discipline,  and  a 
person  who  is  disgusted  with  the  ways  of  the  world  under- 
goes a  much  more  severe  discipline,  if  he  remains  in  the 
world,  than  if  he  runs  away,  and  goes  where  he  may  enjoy 
his  peace.  The  real  ascetic  is  therefore  he  who  lives  in  the 
midst  of  the  society  whose  manners  displease  him,  and 
whose  tastes  are  not  his  own,  and  who,  in  spite  of  all  the 
temptations  by  which  he  may  be  surrounded,  still  maintains 


136  ASCETICISM. 

his  integrity  of  character.  Strength  only  grows  by  resist- 
ance, and  our  enemies  are  therefore  our  friends,  if  we  know 
how  to  use  them.  A  hermit  living  in  the  woods,  where  he 
has  no  one  to  contradict  and  resist  him,  can  gain  no 
strength.  Such  a  life  is  only  suitable  for  one  who  has 
already  gained  full  strength,  and  who  wants  to  enjoy  that 
which  he  already  possesses.  Tranquillity  is  only  suitable 
for  the  Adept;  the  Neophite  must  go  through  the  ordeal 
of  life. 

Metals  are  purified  by  fire,  and  the  emotions  by  suffer- 
ing. The  lower  desires  must  starve  to  nourish  the  higher ; 
the  animal  passions  must  be  crucified  and  die ;  but  the 
angel  of  Will  removes  the  stone  from  the  sepulchre,  and 
liberates  the  higher  energies  from  the  sphere  of  selfishness 
and  darkness ;  and  then  the  resurrected  virtues  will  begin 
to  live  and  become  active  in  a  new  world  of  enduring  light 
and  harmony. 

To  obtain  a  clear  view  of  the  process  of  purification  of 
man,  imagine  yourself  immersed  in  a  mist  of  matter,  sur- 
rounded by  inimical  influences  from  the  emotions  of  the 
astral  plane  that  gradually  lead  to  your  dissolution. 
Deep  in  yourself,  in  the  cloudless  centre  of  your  soul,  and 
yet  seemingly  far  above  you,  is  your  internal  god,  your 
ethereal  prototype,  your  real  self,  the  immortal  Adonai, 
like  a  mirage,  waiting  to  attract  your  more  refined  elements 
towards  himself.  The  more  you  concentrate  your  thoughts 
and  desires  upon  your  lower  self,  and  cling  to  the  sphere 
of  desires,  the  more  will  the  serene  image  grow  dim  and 
shadowy ;  but  if  your  aspirations  and  thoughts,  made 
effective  by  your  Will  and  your  acts,  rise  above  the  sphere 
of  self  and  cling  to  the  pure  ideal,  then  your  higher  energies 
will  flow  towards  it,  making  it  grow  more  and  more  dis- 
tinct and  substantial,  until  your  innermost  self  .and  your 
consciousness  is  united  with  it.  and  free  from  all  earthly 
attractions,  looks  down  upon  that  which  remains  below, 
and  beholds  in  it  only  the  shadow  of  its  own  immortal 
reality.  Desire  results  from  attraction,  attraction  results 
from  the  separation  of  two  substances,  analogous  in  their 
essences  and  properties.  We  cannot  desire  a  thing  of 
which  we  know  nothing,  and  if  we  are  attracted  to  a  thing, 
there  must  necessarily  be  in  us  a  portion  of  it  desirous  to 
reunite  itself  with  the  portion  from  which  it  is  separated. 
A  human  being  possessed  of  a  divine  spark  of  the  univer- 
sal spirit  knows  intuitively  the  source  from  which  it  came 


PURIFICA  TION.  137 

and  with  which  it  desires  to  become  reunited,  without 
needing  any  scientific  demonstration  to  convince  him  intel- 
lectually of  this  truth. 

To  recognize  the  purity  of  the  divine  spark  within  is 
true  adoration,  to  attempt  to  realize  it  is  true  meditation ; 
to  exert  the  will  to  bring  one's  self  in  perfect  harmony 
with  it,  is  aspiration  or  prayer.  To  express  that  prayer  in 
acts,  is  to  make  it  effective.  True  prayer  is  always 
efficacious  on  the  plane  whereon  it  is  made  to  act.  Prayer 
on  the  physical  plane  consists  in  physical  works,  on  the 
astral  plane  it  purifies  the  emotions  through  the  action  of 
the  will ;  in  the  realm  of  the  intellect  study  is  prayer  and 
leads  to  knowledge,  and  the  highest  spiritual  aspirations 
lift  man  out  of  the  turmoil  of  matter  and  bring  him  nearer 
to  his  own  god. 

There  is  not  a  single  instance  known  in  history  in  which 
true  prayer  has  not  been  efficacious.  If  any  man  has  not 
obtained  that  which  he  asked,  it  only  proves  that  he  did 
not  know  how  to  pray.  True  prayer  means  self-sacrifice  ; 
a  giving  up  of  the  low  upon  the  altar  of  the  high.  True 
prayer  does  not  consist  in  words,  but  in  actions,  and  the 
gods  help  him  who  helps  himself  ;  but  he  who  expects  that 
the  gods  should  do  for  him  that  which  he  ought  to  accom- 
plish himself,  does  not  know  how  to  pray,  and  will  be 
disappointed.  Prayer  means  a  rising  up  in  our  thoughts 
and  aspirations  to  our  highest  ideal,  but  if  we  do  not  our- 
selves rise  up  to  it,  we  do  not  pray.  If  we  expect  our 
highest  ideal  to  come  down  to  us,  we  expect  an  absurdity 
and  impossibility. 

To  attain  the  highest  the  spirit  should  be  the  master, 
the  passions,  the  servants.  A  helpless  cripple  is  the  slave 
of  his  servant ;  a  man  who  depends  on  ignorant  servants 
to  do  work  which  he  can  do  himself  has,  to  a  certain 
extent,  to  submit  to  their  whims  and  imperfections,  and  if 
he  changes  his  servants,  that  does  not  change  his  position. 
A  person  who  has  vulgar  desires  and  tastes  becomes  the 
servant  of  these  tastes  ;  they  dictate  to  him,  and  he  has  to 
exert  himself  to  obtain  the  means  to  gratify  their  claims ; 
but  he  who  has  no  ignoble  desires  to  serve,  is  independent 
and  free  and  his  own  master.  He  has  conquered  matter, 
his  strife  with  the  astral  elements  ceases.  For  him  discord 
can  then  no  longer  exist,  and  his  purified  elements  will 
find  their  responsive  vibrations  in  the  eternal  life  of  the 
universal  spirit  of  Love. 


t 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ILLUSION. 

"Reason  dissipates  the  illusions  and  visionary  interpretations  of 
things,  in  which  the  imagination  runs  riot." — Dr.  Caird. 

THE  first  power  that  meets  us  at  the  threshold  of  soul's 
dominion  is  the  power  of  imagination  ;  it  is  the  plastic  and 
creative  power  of  the  mind.  Man  is  conscious  of  being 
able  to  receive  ideas  and  to  put  them  into  forms.  He 
lives  not  entirely  in  the  objective  world,  but  possesses  an 
interior  world  of  his  own.  It  is  in  his  power  to  be  the 
sole  autocrat  in  that  world,  the  master  of  its  creations  and 
lord  over  all  it  contains.  He  may  govern  there  by  the 
supreme  power  of  his  will,  and  if  ideas  intrude,  which 
have  no  legitimate  right  to  exist  in  it,  it  is  in  his  power 
either  to  drive  them  away  or  suffer  them  to  remain  and  to 
grow.  His  reason  is  the  supreme  ruler  in  that  world,  its 
ministers  are  the  emotions.  If  man's  reason,  misled  by 
the  treacherous  advice  of  the  emotions,  suffers  evil  ideas 
to  grow,  they  may  become  powerful  and  dethrone  reason, 
unless  it  employs  the  Will  to  suppress  them. 

This  interior  world,  like  the  outer  world,  is  a  world  of 
its  own.  It  is  sometimes  dark,  sometimes  illuminated ; 
its  space  and  the  things  it  contains  are  as  real  to  its 
inhabitants  as  the  physical  world  is  real  to  the  physical 
senses ;  its  horizon  may  be  either  narrow  or  expanded, 
limited  in  some  and  without  limits  in  others  ;  it  has  its 
beautiful  scenery  and  its  dismal  localities,  its  sunshine 
and  storms,  its  forms  of  beauty  and  horrible  shapes.  It  is 
the  privilege  of  intellectual  man  to  retire  to  that  world 
whenever  he  chooses  ;  physical  enemies  do  not  persecute 
him  there ;  bodily  pain  cannot  enter.  The  vexations  of 


THE  INNER  KINGDOM.  139 

material  life  remain  behind,  but  the  emotions  enter  with 
him. 

This  interior  realm  of  the  soul  is  the  Temple  of  Man 
wherein  we  should  shut  ourselves  and  lock  the  door 
against  the  intrusion  of  sensual  impressions,  if  we  desire 
to  "  pray."  On  the  entrance  of  that  temple  are  the 
Dwellers  of  the  Threshold,  our  desires  and  passions, 
which  are  our  own  creations,  and  which  must  be  con- 
quered before  we  can  enter.  Within  that  temple  exists  a 
world,  as  big  and  as  illimitable  as  the  external  unbounded 
universe,  the  forms  of  which  we  see  with  our  physical  eyes. 
This  inner  world  is  filled  with  the  products  of  man's  own 
creation  ;  some  of  them  inactive,  but  others  have  become 
active  and  living  entities,  which  may  assume  dominion  and, 
by  growing  into  power,  dethrone  the  real  king,  Reason. 
In  this  inner  realm  each  man  is — or  ought  to  be — the  God 
whose  spirit  floats  over  the  waters  of  the  deep,  and  whose 
fiat  calls  into  existence  only  that  which  is  useful  and 
good.  The  more  this  inner  individual  god  will  be  in  har- 
mony with  the  God  of  the  universe,  the  more  will  the  two 
become  one,  and  the  greater  will  be  the  perfection  of  the 
inner  world  over  the  happiness  of  the  individual.  Only 
when  man  has  found  himself  in  that  inner  world,  will  he 
begin  a  life  which  must  necessarily  be  immortal  because  it 
is  free  from  change,  and  having  become  his  own  master, 
he  can  belong  to  nobody  but  himself — not  to  his  lower — 
but  to  his  highest  self,  which  is  one  with  the  eternal  Christ 
or  the  Maha-atma  of  the  universe. 

In  that  interior  world  is  the  battle-ground  of  the  gods. 
There  the  gods  of  love  and  hate,  the  daemons  of  lust  and 
pride,  and  anger,  the  devils  of  malice,  cruelty,  and  re- 
venge, vanity,  envy,  and  jealousy,  may  hold  high  carnival, 
they  may  stir  up  the  emotions,  and,  unless  subdued  by 
Reason,  they  may  grow  strong  enough  to  dethrone  it. 

Reason  rests  upon  Truth.  Wherever  truth  is  disre- 
garded illusions  appear.  If  we  lose  sight  of  the  highest, 
the  lower  will  appear  to  be  the  highest,  and  an  illusion 
will  be  created.  One  is  the  number  of  Truth,  Six  is  the 
number  of  illusion,  because  the  Six  have  no  existence 
without  the  Seventh,  they  are  the  visible  products  of  the 
one,  manifesting  itself  as  six  around  an  invisible  centre. 
Wherever  they  are  six,  there  must  be  the  seventh,  although 
the  presence  of  the  latter  may  not  be  manifest.  One  is 


I4o  ANIMAL  FORMS. 

the  number  of  life,  and  six  the  number  of  shadows  from 
which  life  has  departed. 

Forms  without  life  are  illusive,  and  he  who  mistakes 
the  form  for  the  life  or  principle  of  which  it  is  an  expres- 
sion is  haunted  by  an  illusion.  Forms  perish,  but  the 
principle  that  causes  their  existence  remains.  The  object 
of  forms  is  to  represent  principles,  and  as  long  as  a  form 
is  known  to  be  a  true  representation  of  a  principle  the 
principle  gives  it  life  ;  but  if  a  form  is  made  lo  serve 
another  principle  than  the  one  which  called  it  into  exist- 
ence, degradation  and  death  will  be  the  final  result. 

The  irrational  forms  produced  by  nature  are  perfect  ex- 
pressions of  the  principles  they  are  intended  to  represent  ; 
rational  beings  only  are  the  dissemblers.  Each  animal  is 
a  true  expression  of  the  character  represented  by  its  form, 
only  at  the  point  where  intellectuality  begins  deception 
commences.  Each  animal  form  is  a  symbol  of  the  mental 
state  which  characterizes  its  soul,  because  it  is  not  itself 
the  arbitrary  originator  of  its  form,  but  rational  man  has 
it  in  his  power  to  create,  and  if  he  prostitutes  one  prin- 
ciple in  a  form  for  another,  the  form  will  gradually  adopt 
that  shape  which  characterizes  the  prostituted  principle, 
of  which,  in  the  course  of  time,  it  becomes  a  true  expres- 
sion. 

Therefore  we  find  that  a  man  of  noble  appearance,  by 
becoming  a  miser,  gradually  adopts  the  sneaking  look  and 
the  stealthy  gait  of  an  animal  going  in  search  of  its  prey  ; 
the  lascivious  may  acquire  the  habits,  and  perhaps  the 
appearance  of  a  monkey  or  goat,  the  sly  one  the  features 
of  a  fox,  and  the  conceited  the  looks  of  a  donkey. 

If  our  bodies  were  formed  of  a  more  ethereal  and  plastic 
material  than  of  muscles  and  bones,  each  change  of  our 
character  would  produce  quickly  a  corresponding  change 
of  our  form ;  but  gross  matter  is  inert,  and  follows  only 
slowly  the  impressions  made  upon  the  soul.  For  this 
reason  the  deduction  of  Phrenology,  Physiognomy,  etc., 
however  much  truth  they  may  contain,  cannot  convey 
absolute  truth.  The  material  of  which  astral  forms  and 
souls  are  made  are  more  plastic,  and  the  soul  of  a  villain- 
ous person  may  actually  resemble  a  pool  filled  with  vipers 
and  scorpions,  the  true  symbol  of  his  moral  characteristics, 
mirrored  in  his  mind.  A  generation  of  saints  would,  in 
the  course  of  time,  produce  a  nation  of  A  polios  and 


PURITY.  141 

Dianas,  a  generation  of  villains  would  grow  into  monsters 
and  dwarfs.  To  keep  the  form  in  its  original  beauty  the 
principle  must  be  kept  pure  and  without  any  adulteration. 

One  fundamental  color  of  the  solar  spectrum,  if  unmixed, 
is  as  pure  as  another ;  one  element,  if  free  from  another,  is 
pure.  Unmixed  copper  is  as  pure  as  unalloyed  gold, 
and  emotions  are  pure  if  free  from  extraneous  mixing. 
Forms  are  pure  if  they  represent  their  principles  in  their 
purity ;  a  villain  who  shows  himself  what  he  is  is  pure  and 
true,  a  saint  who  dissembles  is  impure  and  false.  Fash- 
ions are  the  external  expressions  of  the  mental  states  of  a 
country,  and  if  men  and  women  degenerate  in  their  char- 
acter their  fashions  will  become  absurd. 

The  want  of  power  to  discriminate  between  the  true  and 
the  illusive,  between  the  form  and  the  principle,  and  the 
consequent  error  of  apprehending  the  low  for  the  high,  is 
the  cause  of  suffering.  Man's  material  interests  are 
frequently  considered  to  be  of  supreme  importance,  and 
the  interests  of  the  highest  elements  in  his  constitution  are 
forgotten.  The  power  that  should  be  expended  to  feed 
the  high  is  eaten  up  by  the  low.  Instead  of  the  low 
serving  the  high,  the  high  is  made  to  serve  the  low,  and 
instead  of  the  form  being  used  as  an  instrument  of  action 
for  the  principle,  the  principle  is  made  to  wait  until  the 
claims  of  the  form  are  attended  to  ;  in  other  words,  a  low 
principle  is  substituted  for  a  higher  one. 

Such  a  prostitution  of  principle  in  favor  of  form  is  found 
in  all  spheres  of  social  life.  We  find  it  among  the  rich  and 
the  poor,  the  educated  and  the  ignorant,  in  the  forum,  the 
press,  and  the  pulpit,  no  less  than  in  the  halls  of  the  mer- 
chant and  in  the  daily  transactions  of  life.  The  prostitu- 
tion of  principle  is  worse  than  the  prostitution  of  the  body, 
and  he  who  uses  his  intellectual  powers  for  selfish  and 
villainous  purposes  is  more  to  be  pitied  than  she  who  car- 
ries on  a  trade  with  her  bodily  charms  to  gain  the  means 
by  which  she  may  keep  that  body  alive.  The  prostitution 
of  universal  human  rights  for  the  benefit  of  a  few  individ- 
uals is  the  most  dangerous  form  of  prostitution  on  Earth. 

The  difference  between  vulgar  prostitution  of  the  body 
and  the  more  refined  prostitution  of  the  intellectual 
faculties  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing  selfish  ends,  is 
merely  that  in  the  first  class  merely  the  grossest  parts  of 
the  human  organization  are  misused,  while  in  the  other 


I42  PROSTITUTION  OF  THE  INTELLECT. 

class  the  higher  and  more  permanent  parts  are  misused. 
The  consequences  of  the  latter  kind  must  therefore  be 
much  more  lasting  than  those  of  the  former.  There  are 
few  women  in  the  world  who  have  become  degraded  from 
an  inclination  to  be  so ;  in  the  great  majority  of  cases  they 
are  the  victims  of  circumstances  which  they  had  not  the 
power  to  resist ;  but  intellectual  villains  usually  belong  to 
the  higher  classes,  where  want  and  poverty  are  unknown. 

To  employ  the  intellectual  powers  for  the  mere  purpose 
of  "  making  money  "  is  the  beginning  of  intellectual  pros- 
titution. Blessed  are  they  who  are  able  to  gain  their  bread 
by  the  honest  work  of  their  hands,  for  an  employment 
which  requires  little  intellectual  attention  will  leave  them 
free  to  employ  their  mental  powers  for  the  purpose  of 
spiritual  meditation  and  unfoldment ;  while  those  who 
spend  all  their  mental  energy  upon  the  lower  planes  are 
selling  their  immortal  birthright  for  a  worthless  mess  of 
potage  which  may  nourish  the  body  while  it  starves  the 
soul. 

The  greatest  of  all  illusions  is  the  illusion  of  "  Self.'" 
Material  man  looks  upon  himself  as  something  existing 
apart  from  every  other  existence.  The  shape  of  his  form 
creates  the  illusion  of  being  an  independent  substantial 
whole,  and  the  changes  in  that  form  take  place  so  slow  and 
imperceptible,  that  the  error  is  not  perceived.  Still,  there 
is  not  a  single  element  in  his  body,  in  the  constitution  of 
his  soul,  or  in  the  mechanism  of  his  intellect,  that  is  not 
continually  departing,  and  is  replaced  by  others  from  the 
universal  fountain  of  life.  What  belongs  to  him  to-day 
belonged  yesterday  to  another,  and  may  belong  to  another 
to-morrow.  In  his  physical  form  there  is  a  continual 
change.  In  the  bodies  of  organized  beings  tissues  disap- 
pear slowly  or  quickly,  according  to  the  nature  of  their 
affinities,  and  new  ones  take  their  places,  to  be  replaced  in 
turn  by  others.  The  human  body  changes  in  size,  shape, 
and  density  as  age  advances,  presenting  successively  the 
symbols  of  the  buoyant  health  of  youth,  the  vigorous  con- 
stitution of  manhood,  or  the  grace  and  beauty  of  woman- 
hood, up  to  the  attributes  indicating  old  age,  the  forerunner 
of  decay  and  cessation  of  activity  in  that  individual  form. 

No  less  is  the  change  in  the  soul.  Sensation  and  desires 
change,  consciousness  changes,  memories  grow  dim.  No 
man  has  the  same  opinions  he  had  when  he  was  a  child ; 


PERSONALITY.  14 

knowledge  increases,  intellect  grows  weak,  and  on  the 
mental  as  well  as  on  the  physical  plane  the  special  activity 
ceases  when  the  accumulated  energy  is  exhausted  by  trans- 
formation into  other  modes  of  action  or  is  transferred  in 
other  forms. 

The  lower  material  elements  in  the  constitution  of  man 
change  rapidly,  the  higher  ones  change  slowly,  but  only 
the  highest  elements  are  enduring.  Nothing  can  be  said 
to  belong  essentially  to  man  but  the  character  of  his  sixth 
principle  in  its  union  with  the  seventh.  He  who  cares  a 
great  deal  lor  his  lower  principles,  cares  for  things  that  are 
not  his  own,  but  which  he  has  only  borrowed  from  nature. 
While  he  enjoys  their  possession  an  illusion  is  created, 
making  them  appear  to  be  an  essential  part  of  himself,  and 
his  imagination  revels  in  their  fancied  possession.  They 
are,  however,  not  more  an  essential  part  of  himself  than 
the  clothes  which  a  man  wears,  a  constituent  part  of  the 
man.  His  only  true  self  is  his  character,  and  he  who 
loses  the  strength  of  his  character  loses  all  his  possessions. 

One  of  the  kings  of  illusions  is  Money,  the  king  of  the 
world.  Money  represents  the  principle  of  equity,  and  it 
should  be  employed  to  enable  every  one  to  obtain  the  just 
equivalent  for  his  labor.  If  we  desire  more  money  than 
we  can  rightfully  claim,  we  wish  for  something  that  does 
not  belong  to  us  but  to  another,  and  we  repulse  the  divine 
principle  of  truth.  If  we  obtain  labor  without  paying  for 
it  its  proper  equivalent,  we  deprive  others  of  justice,  and 
therefore  deprive  ourselves  of  the  principle  of  truth,  which 
is  a  more  serious  loss  to  ourselves  than  the  loss  of  money 
to  the  defrauded. 

Money  as  such  is  an  illusion,  only  the  principle  of 
justice,  which  it  represents,  has  a  real  existence.  Never- 
theless we  see  the  world  lie  at  the  feet  of  the  form.  The 
poor  clamor  for  it,  and  the  rich  crave  for  more,  and  the 
general  desire  is  to  obtain  the  greatest  amount  of  reward 
by  giving  the  least  possible  equivalent.  There  are  priests 
who  save  souls,  and  doctors  who  cure  bodies  for  money  ; 
law  is  sold  to  him  who  is  able  and  willing  to  pay,  fame  and 
reputation  and  the  semblance  of  love  can  be  obtained  for 
money,  and  the  worth  of  a  man  is  expressed  in  the  sum  of 
shillings  or  pounds  which  he  may  call  his  own.  Starvation 
threatens  the  poor,  and  the  consequence  of  superabundance 
the  rich,  and  some  of  the  rich  take  advantage  of  the  distress 


144  MONEY. 

of  the  poor  to  enrich  themselves  more.  Science  exerts  her 
powers  to  increase  the  amount  of  the  material  comforts  of 
man.  It  vanquishes  the  impediments  presented  by  time 
and  space,  and  turns  night  into  day.  New  engines  are 
invented,  and  the  work  whose  performance  in  former 
times  required  the  use  of  a  thousand  arms,  may  now  be 
accomplished  by  a  child.  An  immense  amount  of  personal 
suffering  and  labor  is  thereby  saved.  But  as  the  means 
to  satisfy  the  craving  for  comfort  increase,  a  craving  arises 
for  more.  Things  that  formerly  were  considered  luxuries 
now  become  indispensable  needs.  Illusions  create  illusions, 
and  desires  give  rise  to  desires.  The  sight  of  the  principle 
is  lost,  and  the  golden  calf  is  put  into  its  place.  Produc- 
tion is  followed  by  over  production,  the  supply  exceeds 
the  demand,  the  price  of  labor  comes  down  to  starvation 
rates,  and  on  the  rotten  soil  the  mushrooms  of  monopoly 
grow.  The  more  the  facilities  increase  to  sustain  the  battle  of 
life,  the  more  increases  its  fury.  The  noblest  power  of  man, 
his  intellect,  whose  destiny  it  is  to  form  a  solid  basis  for 
the  highest  spiritual  aspirations  of  man,  is  forced  to  labor 
for  the  satisfaction  of  the  animal  instincts  of  man  ;  the 
body  flourishes,  and  the  spirit  starves  and  becomes  a 
beggar  in  the  kingdom  of  truth. 

From  the  love  of  self  arises  the  love  of  possession.  It  is 
the  hydra-headed  monster  whose  cravings  can  never  be 
stilled.  Nearest  to  the  illusion  of  self  stands  the  illusion 
of  Love.  True  love  is  not  an  illusion,  it  is  the  power  that 
unites  the  world  and  an  attribute  of  the  spirit ;  but  the 
illusion  of  love  is  not  love,  but  only  love's  shadow.  True 
love  seeks  only  for  the  happiness  of  the  object  it  loves, 
but  animal  love  cares  for  itself,  and  seeks  only  enjoyment. 
True  love  exists,  even  if  the  form  is  dissolved ;  false  love 
dies,  when  the  form  to  which  it  was  attached  decays. 

Ideal  woman  is  the  crown  of  creation,  and  has  a  right  to 
be  loved  by  man.  A  male  being,  who  does  not  love  the 
character  of  a  woman,  bears  only  the  semblance  of  a  man, 
and  man  is  not  a  complete  being  unless  he  possesses 
woman's  love.  A  man  who  does  not  love  beauty  has  no 
element  of  beauty  in  him.  But  the  man  who  only  fancies 
woman's  attractions,  and  not  the  woman  herself,  is  repulsed 
by  her.  If  only  his  instincts  attract  him  to  her  she  sees 
his  weakness  and  is  repulsed  by  it.  She  may  be  rendered 
vain  enough  by  the  possession  of  such  charms  as  to  enjoy 


FANCY.  145 

the  victory  gained  by  them  over  a  fool,  but  an  intelligent 
woman  looks  upon  such  a  victim  as  an  object  of  pity  and 
commiseration,  and  not  as  a  source  of  strength. 

Man  loves  beauty  and  woman  loves  strength.  A  man 
who  is  the  slave  of  his  desires  is  weak,  and  cannot  com- 
mand the  respect  of  a  woman  he  professes  to  love.  If  she 
sees  him  squirm  under  the  lash  of  his  animal  instincts  she 
will  not  be  able  to  look  upon  him  as  her  protector  and 
god. 

Man  represents  Reason,  and  woman  represents  Will.  If 
the  will  is  in  harmony  with  reason  it  will  be  as  one.  If 
they  act  against  each  other  illusions  come  into  existence. 

Another  illusion  is  the  craving  for  physical  life,  and  well 
may  he  crave  for  it  who  has  no  character  of  his  own, 
because,  having  lost  his  character,  if  he  loses  his  life,  he 
loses  his  all.  Men  and  women  cling  to  the  illusion  of  life 
because  they  do  not  know  what  Hfe  is.  They  will  submit 
to  indignity,  dishonor,  and  suffering  rather  than  die. 
Life  is  a  means  to  an  end,  and  as  such  it  is  valuable  ;  but 
why  should  life  be  so  desirable  as  to  sacrifice  character  for 
it  ?  One  life  is  only  one  temporary  condition  among  a 
thousand  similar  ones  through  which  the  character  of  a 
man  passes  in  its  travels  on  the  road  to  perfection,  and 
whether  he  remains  a  longer  or  a  shorter  interval  at  one 
station,  cannot  be  of  any  very  serious  importance  to  him. 
Man  can  make  no  better  use  of  his  life  than  to  sacrifice  it, 
if  necessary,  for  the  welfare  of  others  ;  because  this  act 
will  strengthen  his  own  character,  in  which  rests  the  source 
of  his  life,  and  the  power  by  which  he  is  enabled  to 
reappear  in  a  new  form. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  who  sneaks  away  from  the 
battle  of  life  for  selfish  purposes,  or  because  he  is  afraid  to 
continue  its  struggles,  will  not  escape.  He  may  wish  to 
step  out  of  life  and  destroy  his  body,  but  the  law  cannot 
be  cheated.  Life  will  remain  with  him  until  his  natural 
days  would  have  ended.  He  cannot  destroy  it,  he  can 
only  deprive  himself  of  the  instrument  through  which  he 
can  act.  He  resembles  a  man  who  has  to  perform  some 
work  and  throws  away  the  instrument  which  would  have 
enabled  him  to  perform  it.  Vain  will  be  his  regrets. 

But  if,  in  the  cases  of  sane  suicides,  the  illusion  called 
life  continues  after  the  death  of  the  physical  body,  and 
consciousness  remains  with  the  astral  form,  then  a  serious 
question  arises  in  regard  to  the  disposal  of  the  bodies  of 


146  CRA  VING  FOR  ANIMAL  LIFE. 

such  unfortunate  persons ;  for  wherever  consciousness 
exists,  there  must  be  sensation,  and  as  in  such  instances  a 
magnetic  connection  is  said  to  continue  to  exist  between 
the  astral  man  and  his  corpse,  it  appears  not  impossible 
that  the  post  mortem  communications  of  suicides  are  true, 
and  that  injuries  inflicted  upon  the  body  may  under  certain 
conditions  be  felt  very  acutely  by  the  disembodied  man. 

Another  illusion  is  a  great  deal  of  what  is  called 
"  science."  True  knowledge  makes  a  man  free,  but  false 
science  renders  him  a  slave  to  the  opinions  of  others. 
Many  men  waste  their  lives  to  learn  that  which  is  foolish 
and  neglect  that  which  is  true,  mistaking  that  which  is 
evanescent  and  perishing  for  the  eternal.  Nor  is  their 
desire  for  learning  usually  caused  by  a  desire  to  learn  the 
truth,  else  they  would  not  reject  the  truth  when  they  see  it. 
In  the  majority  of  cases  learning  is  not  the  aim  but  the 
means  to  the  aim  of  the  student,  while  his  real  objects  are 
the  attainment  of  wealth,  position,  and  fame,  or  the  grati- 
fication of  curiosity.  The  true  wealth  of  a  nation  or  a  man 
does  not  rest  in  intellectual  acquirements,  but  in  spiritual 
possessions,  which  alone  will  remain  permanent. 

There  is  nothing  more  productive  of  a  tendency  to  the 
development  of  an  extreme  degree  of  selfishness  than  the 
development  of  a  high  degree  of  intellectuality,  without 
any  accompanying  growth  of  spirituality.  Whoever  doubts 
this  assertion  let  him  observe  the  petty  jealousies  every- 
where prevailing  among  the  learned  professions.  More- 
over, a  high  degree  of  intellectuality  enables  a  person  to 
take  personal  advantages  over  others  who  are  less  learned, 
and  unless  he  possesses  great  moral  powers  he  may  not  be 
able  to  resist  the  temptations  that  are  put  in  his  way.  The 
greatest  villains  and  criminals  have  been  persons  of  great 
intellectual  qualifications.  A  development  of  the  intellect 
is  necessary  to  understand  spiritual  truths  after  they  are' 
once  perceived,  but  they  cannot  be  perceived  by  the 
intellect  without  spirituality  ;  they  can  only  be  perceived 
by  the  power  of  the  spirit.  The  development  of  spiritual 
powers  of  perception  is,  therefore,  of  supreme  importance  ; 
that  of  the  intellect  comes  next.  "  Blessed  is  he  whom 
the  truth  teaches,  not  by  perishable  emblems  and  words, 
but  by  its  own  inherent  power  ;  not  what  it  appears  to  be, 
but  as  it  is."  * 

*  Thomas  de  Kempis. 


AMBITION.  147 

The  love  of  power  and  fame  are  other  illusions.  True 
power  is  an  attribute  of  the  spirit.  If  I  am  obeyed  because 
I  am  rich,  it  is  not  myself  who  commands  obedience,  but 
my  riches.  If  I  am  called  powerful  because  I  enjoy 
authority,  it  is  not  myself  who  is  powerful,  but  it  is  the 
authority  vested  in  me.  Riches  and  authority  are  halos 
thrown  around  men,  which  often  vanish  as  quickly  as  they 
have  been  acquired.  Fame  is  often  enjoyed  by  him  who 
does  not  deserve  it,  and  the  most  honored  man  is  he  who 
has  cause  to  respect  himself  on  account  of  his  acts. 

Place  of  birth  and  condition  of  life  are  circumstances 
which  are  usually  not  matters  of  choice,  and  no  one  has  a 
right  to  despise  another  on  account  of  his  nationality,  reli- 
gious belief,  color  of  skin,  or  the  act  he  may  play  on  this 
planet.  Conditions  are  illusions,  caused  by  the  conse- 
quences of  other  illusions ;  they  do  not  belong  to  the 
essential  character  of  man.  Whether  an  actor  plays  the 
part  of  a  king  or  a  servant,  the  actor  is,  therefore,  not 
despised,  provided  he  plays  his  part  well. 

There  are  other  illusions  which  come  without  being 
asked,  and  remain,  although  their  stay  is  not  wanted. 
They  are  the  unwelcome  visitors — Fear,  Doubt,  and 
Remorse,  and  they,  like  all  other  illusions,  are  caused  by 
ignorance  of  the  true  nature  of  man  and  the  extent  of  his 
powers.  Men  sometimes  live  in  fear  of  a  revengeful  power 
which  has  no  existence,  and  may  die  from  fear  of  an  evil 
that  does  not  exist.  They  are  often  afraid  of  the  effects  of 
causes  which  they,  nevertheless,  continue  to  create ;  they 
may  doubt  whether  they  will  succeed  in  cheating  the  law, 
not  knowing  that  the  real  man  is  himself  the  law  and 
cannot  be  cheated.  Every  acts  creates  a  cause,  and  the 
cause  is  followed  by  an  effect  which  reacts  on  him  who 
created  the  cause,  whether  he  may  experience  that  effect 
in  this  life  or  in  another.  To  escape  the  effect  of  the 
cause  which  has  been  created,  he  who  created  the  cause 
must  try  to  transform  himself  into  another  man.  If  his 
lower  principles  have  led  him  into  mistakes  they  will  suffer, 
but  if  he  succeeds  in  assimilating  his  nature  with  his  higher 
principles,  and  thereby  changes  himself  into  a  being  of  a 
different  character,  their  suffering  will  not  be  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  him.  Such  is  the  only  rational  philosophy 
of  the  "  forgiveness  of  sins,"  and  priests  could  forgive  sins 


148  FEAR,  DOUBT  AND  REMORSE. 

if  they  were  able  to  change  the  sinner  into  a  saint.  This 
can,  however,  only  be  done  by  the  individual  exertions  of 
the  "  sinner,"  who  may  be  instructed  by  one  who  is  wise. 
To  become  sufficiently  wise  to  instruct  another  about  the 
laws  or  his  nature  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the 
instructor  should  know  these  laws,  and  be  acquainted  with 
the  true  constitution  of  man. 

Reason  is  the  savior  of  man,  ignorance  is  his  death  and 
unreason  his  suffering.  Reason  is  the  power  of  the  mind 
to  recognize  the  truth,  and  in  the  light  of  truth  the  shadows 
of  doubt  and  fear  and  remorse  cannot  exist. 

Illusions  are  dispersed  by  Reason  through  the  power  of 
Will.  When  the  will  is  held  in  abeyance  the  imagination 
is  rendered  passive,  and  the  mind  takes  in  the  reflections  of 
pictures  stored  up  in  the  Astral  Light  without  choice  or 
discrimination.  When  reason  does  not  guide  the  imagin- 
ation the  mind  creates  disorderly  fancies  and  hallucina- 
tions. The  passive  seer  dreams  while  awake,  and  may 
mistake  his  dreams  for  realities,  but  his  dreams  may  be  his 
own  creations,  or  they  may  be  impressions  caused  by 
floating  ideas  taking  possession  of  the  unresisting  mind, 
and,  according  to  the  source  from  which  such  impressions 
come,  they  may  be  either  true  or  false.  Various  means 
have  been  adopted  to  suspend  the  discriminating  power  of 
will  and  render  the  imagination  abnormally  passive,  and 
all  such  practices  are  injurious,  in  proportion  as  they  are 
efficacious.  The  ancient  Pythoness  attempted  to  heighten 
her  already  abnormal  receptivity  by  the  inhalation  of 
noxious  vapors  j  savage  and  semi-civilized  people  some- 
times use  poisons,  or  whirl  in  a  dance  until  the  action  of 
reason  is  temporarily  suspended  ;  others  use  opium,  Indian 
hemp,,  and  other  narcotics,  which  not  only  suspend  their 
will  and  render  their  mind  a  blank,  but  which  also  excite 
the  brain,  and  induce  morbid  fancies  and  illusions.* 

*  The  fumigations  which  were  used  at  former  times  for  the  purpose 
of  rendering  reason  inactive,  and  allowing  the  products  of  a  passive 
imagination  to  appear  in  an  objective  state,  were  usually  narcotic 
substances.  Blood  was  only  used  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing  substance 
to  Elemental  s  and  Elementaries,  by  the  aid  of  which  they  might  render 
their  bodies  more  dense  and  visible. 

Cornelius  Agrippa  gives  the  following  prescription  :  Make  a  powder 
of  spermaceti,  aloe  wood,  musk,  saffron,  and  thyme,  sprinkle  it  with  the 
blood  of  a  hoopop.  If  this  powder  is  burnt  upon  the  graves  of  the 


ASTRAL  PERCEPTIONS.  149 

Fortune-tellers  and  clairvoyants  employ  various  means  to 
fix  their  attention,  to  suspend  thought  and  render  their 
minds  passive,  and  the  images  which  they  receive  may  be 
true  or  false ;  others  stare  at  mirrors  or  crystals,  water  or 
ink,*  but  the  Adept,  while  not  forsaking  the  use  of  his 
reason,  renders  his  imagination  passive  by  maintaining, 
under  all  circumstances,  a  serene  tranquillity  of  the  mind. 
The  surface  of  a  lake  whose  water  is  in  motion  reflects  only 
distorted  reproductions  of  images  projected  upon  it,  and  if 
the  elements  in  the  interior  world  are  in  a  state  of  con- 
fusion, if  emotion  fights  with  emotion  and  the  uproar  of  the 
passions  troubles  the  mind,  if  the  heaven  of  the  soul  is 
clouded  by  prejudices,  darkened  by  ignorance,  hallucinated 
by  insane  desires,  the  true  images  of  things  seen  will  be 
equally  distorted.  The  divine  principle  in  man  remains  in 
itself  unaltered  and  undisturbed,  like  the  image  of  a  star 

dead,  the  ethereal  forms  of  the  latter  will  approach,  and  may  become 
visible. 

Eckartshousen  made  successful  experiments  with  the  following  pre- 
scription :  Mix  powdered  frankincense  and  flour  with  an  egg,  add  milk, 
honey,  and  rosewater,  make  a  paste,  and  throw  some  of  it  upon  burning 
coals. 

Another  prescription  given  by  the  same  author  consists  of  hemlock, 
saffron,  aloes,  opium,  mandragora,  henbane,  poppy-flowers,  and  some 
other  poisonous  plants.  After  undergoing  a  certain  preparation,  which 
he  describes,  he  attempted  the  experiment,  and  saw  the  ghost  of  the 
person  which  he  desired  to  see ;  but  he  came  very  near  poisoning 
himself.  Dr.  Horst  repeated  the  experiment  with  the  same  result,  and 
for  years  afterwards,  whenever  he  looked  upon  a  dark  object,  he  saw  the 
apparition  again. 

Chemistry  has  advanced  since  that  time,  and  those  who  desire  to  make 
such  experiments  at  the  risk  of  their  health,  may  now  accomplish  this  in 
a  more  comfortable  and  easy  manner  by  inhaling  some  of  the  stupefying 
gases  known  to  chemical  science . 

*  There  are  numerous  prescriptions  for  the  preparation  of  magic 
mirrors  ;  but  the  best  magic  mirror  will  be  useless  to  him  who  is  not 
able  to  see  clairvoyantly  ;  while  the  natural  clairvoyant  may  call  that 
faculty  into  action  by  concentrating  his  mind  on  any  particular  spot,  a 
glass  of  water,  ink,  a  crystal,  or  anything  else  ;  for  it  is  not  in  the  minor 
where  such  things  are  seen,  but  in  the  mind  ;  the  mirror  merely  serves 
to  assist  in  the  entering  of  that  mental  state  which  is  necessary  to  pro 
duce  clairvoyant  sight.  The  best  of  all  magic  mirrors  is  the  soul  of 
man,  and  it  should  always  be  kept  pure,  and  be  protected  against  dust 
and  dampness  and  rust,  so  that  it  may  not  become  tarnished,  and  remain 
perfectly  clear,  and  able  to  reflect  the  light  of  the  divine  spirit  in  its 
original  purity. 


1 50  CLA IR  VO  YA  NCE. 

reflected  in  water  ;  but  unless  its  dwelling  is  rendered  clear 
and  transparent,  it  cannot  send  its  rays  through  the  sur- 
rounding walls.  The  more  the  emotions  rage,  the  more 
will  the  mind  become  disturbed  and  the  spirit  be  forced  to 
retreat  into  its  interior  prison  ;  or  if  it  loses  entirely  its 
hold  over  the  mind,  it  may  be  driven  away  by  the  forces 
which  it  cannot  control,  burst  the  door  of  its  dungeon, 
return  to  the  source  from  whence  it  came,  and  leave  man 
behind  as  a  living  corpse,  a  maniac,  *  in  which  the  spiritual 
principle  is  entirely  inactive. 

If  a  person  suffers  his  reason  to  give  up  the  control  over 
his  imagination  he  surrenders  one  of  the  greatest  prero- 
gatives of  man,  and  exposes  himself  to  danger.     In  the 
normal  condition  reason  guides  the  imagination  to  a  certain 
extent  ;  in  abnormal  conditions  the  will  of  another  may 
take   its   place,  or   it   may  roam  without   being   guided, 
influenced  only  by  previously-existing  conditions.  A  person 
who  dreams  does  not  control  the  actions  which  he  performs 
in  his  dream,  although  he  may  dream  that  he  is  exercising 
his  will.     The  things  seen  in  his  dream  are  to  him  realities, 
and  he  does  not  doubt  their  substantiality,  while  external 
physical  objects  have  no  existence  for  him,  and  not  even 
the  possibility  of  their  existence  comes  to  his  consciousness. 
He  may  see  before  him  a  ditch  and  dream  that  he  wills  to 
jump  over  it,  but  he  does  not  actually  exert  his  will,  he 
only  follows  the  impulses  created  during  his  waking  con- 
dition.    A  person  in  a  trance  may  be  so  much  under  the 
influence  of  a  "  magnetizer  "  as  to  have  no  active  will  of 
his  own,  and  be  only  led  by  the  imagination  of  the  operator. 
The  avenues  of  his  external  senses  are  closed,  and  he  lives 
entirely  in  the  subjective  world,  in  which  material  objects 
can  find  no  place,  and  in  which  such  objects  could  by  no 
means  be  introduced.     Still  what  he  sees  is  real  to  him, 
and  if  the  operator  creates  a  precipice  in  his  imagination, 
perhaps  represented  by  a  chalk  mark  on  the  floor  (to  assist 
the  imagination  of  the  operator),  the  "  subject "  will,  on 
approaching  it,  experience  and  manifest  the  same  terror  as 
he  would  in  his  normal  state  if  a  precipice  were  yawning 
under  his  feet ;  and  if  the  operator  should  have  the  cruelty 
to  will  the  entranced  to  jump   over  its  edge,  the  most 
serious  consequences  to  the  individual  might  follow.     A 

*  See  II.  P.  Blavatsky  :  <«  Isis  Unveiled." 


MEDIUMSHIP.  151 

glass  of  water  transformed  into  imaginary  wine  by  the  will 
of  the  "  mesmerizer  "  may  make  the  subject  intoxicated, 
and  if  that  water  has  been  transformed  into  imaginary 
poison  it  may  injure  or  kill  the  sensitive.  A  powerful 
"  mesmerizer  "  can  form  either  a  beautiful  or  a  horrible 
picture  in  his  mind,  and  by  transferring  it  by  his  will  upon 
the  mental  sphere  of  a  sensitive,  he  may  cause  him — even 
if  the  latter  is  in  his  normal  condition — either  pleasure  or 
suffering,  while  the  mental  images  so  created  in  the  mind 
of  the  sensitive  may  again  react  upon  others  and  be  per- 
ceived by  them. 

If  a  person  is  en  rapport  with  a  magnetized  subject, 
the  image  or  even  a  thought  existing  in  the  mind  of  the 
former  is  immediately  accepted  as  a  reality  by  the  latter. 

Such  states  may  be  induced,  not  merely  during  the 
magnetic  sleep,  but  also  during  the  normal  condition,  and 
without  any  active  desire  on  the  part  of  a  magnetizer.  If 
the  audience  sheds  tears  during  the  performance  of  a 
tragedy,  although  they  all  know  that  it  is  merely  a  play, 
they  are  in  a  state  of  partial  magnetization.  Hundreds  of 
similar  occurrences  take  place  every  day,  and  there  is 
sufficient  material  everywhere  in  every-day  life  for  the  stu- 
dent of  psychology  to  investigate  and  explain,  without 
seeking  for  cases  of  an  abnormal  character. 

If  a  "Medium"  submits  the  control  over  his  imagina- 
tion to  another  being  he  becomes  his  servant.  This  other 
being  may  be  another  person,  or  it  may  be  an  idea,  an 
emotion,  a  passion,  and  the  effect  on  the  passive  Medium 
will  be  proportionate  to  the  intensity  of  the  action  mani- 
fested by  them.  It  may  be  an  elemental,  an  astral  corpse, 
or  a  malicious  influence,  and  the  Medium  may  become  an 
epileptic,  a  maniac,  or  a  criminal.  A  person  who  surren- 
ders the  control  over  his  imagination,  indiscriminately,  to 
every  unknown  power,  is  not  less  insane  than  he  who 
would  entrust  his  money  and  valuables  to  the  first  un- 
known stranger  or  vagabond  that  would  ask  him  for  it. 

Mediumship  is  nothing  else  but  a  process  of  transfer  of 
thought,  and  differs  from  an  ordinary  magnetic  experi- 
ment only  in  so  far  as  in  the  latter  the  operator  is  a  visible 
person,  while  in  the  former  the  influence  proceeds  from 
an  invisible  source,  and  is  the  more  dangerous  because 
being  invisible  it  is  not  known  from  whence  it  proceeds. 
If  a  magnetizer  commands  his  subject  to  commit  a  mur- 


152  MENTAL  IMAGERY. 

der,  the  latter  may  commit  it,  even  after  he  has  awakened 
from  his  sleep.  In  such  a  case  the  operator  is  the  mur- 
derer, and  the  subject  merely  the  instrument. 

How  many  murders  and  crimes  are  committed  every 
year  through  sensitive  persons,  who  have  been  influenced 
or  "  mesmerized  "  by  visible  persons  or  invisible  thoughts 
to  commit  them,  and  who  had  not  sufficient  will  power  to 
resist,  it  is  impossible  to  determine.  In  such  cases  we 
hang  or  punish  the  instrument,  but  the.  real  culprit 
escapes.  Such  a  "justice"  is  equivalent  to  punishing  a 
stick  with  which  a  murder  has  been  committed,  and  to  let 
the  man  who  used  the  stick  go  free.  Verily  the  coming 
generations  will  have  as  much  cause  to  laugh  at  the  ignor- 
ance of  their  ancestors  as  we  now  laugh  at  the  ignorance 
of  those  who  preceded  us. 

The  state  of  the  imagination  is  a  great  factor  in  the 
observation  and  appreciation  of  things.  The  savage  may 
see  in  the  sculptured  Minerva  only  a  curious  piece  of 
rock,  and  a  beautiful  painting  may  be  to  him  only  a  piece 
of  cloth  daubed  over  with  colors.  The  greedy  miser,  on 
looking  at  the  beauties  of  nature,  thinks  only  of  the 
money-value  they  represent,  while  for  the  poet  the  forest 
swarms  with  fairies  and  the  water  with  sprites.  The  artist 
finds  beautiful  forms  in  the  wandering  clouds  and  in  the 
projecting  rocks  of  the  mountains,  and  to  him  whose  mind 
is  poetic  every  symbol  in  nature  becomes  a  poem  and  sug- 
gests to  him  new  ideas  ;  but  the  coward  wanders  through 
life  with  a  scowl  upon  his  face  ;  he  sees  in  every  corner 
an  enemy,  and  for  him  the  world  has  nothing  attractive 
except  his  own  little  self.  The  man  who  cannot  be  trusted 
is  ever  mistrustful,  the  thief  fears  to  be  robbed,  and  the 
backbiter  is  extremely  sensitive  to  the  gossip  of  others. 

The  cause  of  this  is  evidently  that  each  man  perceives 
only  those  elements  which  exist  in  his  own  mind,  and  if 
any  foreign  element  enters,  it  is  immediately  tinctured 
and  colored  by  the  former.  The  world  is  a  mirror  where- 
in every  man  may  see  his  own  face.  To  him  whose  soul 
is  beautiful,  the  world  will  look  beautiful  ;  to  him  whose 
soul  is  deformed,  everything  will  seem  to  be  evil. 

The  impressions  made  on  the  mind  by  the  effects  of  the 
imagination  may  be  powerful  and  lasting  upon  the  person. 
They  may  change  or  distort  the  features,  they  may  render 
the  hair  white  in  a  single  hour ;  they  may  mark,  kill,  dis- 


IMAGINATION.  153 

figure,  or  break  the  bones  of  the  unborn  child,  and  make  the 
effects  of  injuries  received  by  one  person  visible  upon  the 
body  of  another  with  whom  that  person  is  in  sympathy. 
They  may  act  more  powerfully  than  drugs  ;  they  cause  and 
cure  diseases,  induce  visions  and  hallucinations,  and  may 
produce  stigmata  in  so-called  saints.  Imagination  performs 
its  miracles,  either  consciously  or  unconsciously,  in  all 
departments  of  nature.  By  altering  the  surroundings  of 
animals  at  such  times  their  color  can  be  changed  at  will. 
The  tiger's  stripes  are  said  to  correspond  with  the  long 
jungle  grass,  and  the  leopard's  spots  resemble  the  speckled 
light  falling  through  the  leaves.*  The  forces  of  nature, 
influenced  by  the  imagination  of  man,  act  on  the  imagina- 
tion of  nature,  and  create  tendencies  on  the  astral  plane, 
which,  in  the  course  of  evolution,  find  expression  through 
material  forms.  In  this  way  man's  vices  or  virtues  be- 
come objective  realities,  and  as  man's  mind  becomes  puri- 
fied, the  earth  becomes  more  beautiful  and  refined,  while 
his  vices  find  their  expression  in  poisonous  reptiles  and 
noxious  plants. 

The  soul  of  the  world  has  its  animal  elementary  exist- 
ences, corresponding  to  those  existing  in  the  animal  soul 
of  man.  Either  are  the  products  of  thought-evolution. 
The  Elementals  in  the  soul  of  man  are  the  products  of  the 
action  of  the  thought  in  the  individual  mind  of  man  ;  the 
elemental  forms  in  the  soul  of  the  world  are  the  products 
of  the  collective  thoughts  of  all  beings.  Animal  elemen- 
tary powers  are  attracted  to  the  germs  of  animals,  and 
grow  into  objective  visible  animal  form,  and  modify  the 
characters  and  also  the  outward  appearance  of  the  animals 
of  our  globe.  We  therefore  see  that  as  the  imagination  of 
the  Universal  Mind  changes  during  the  course  of  ages, 
old  forms  disappear  and  new  ones  come  into  existence. 
Perhaps  if  there  were  no  snakes  in  human  forms,  the 
snakes  of  the  animal  kingdom  would  cease  to  exist. 

But  the  impressions  made  on  the  mind  do  not  end  with 
the  life  of  the  individual  on  the  physical  plane.  A  cause 
which  produces  a  sudden  terror,  or  otherwise  acts  strongly 
on  the  imagination,  may  produce  an  impression  that  not 
only  lasts  through  life  but  beyond  it.  A  person,  for 
instance,  who  during  his  life  has  strongly  believed  in  the 


*Sir  John  Lubbock :    "Proceedings  of  the  British  Association.3 


154  OBJECTIFIED  THOUGHTS. 

existence  of  eternal  damnation  and  hell-fire,  may,  at  his 
entrance  into  the  subjective  state  after  death,  actually 
behold  all  the  terrors  of  hell  which  his  imagination  during 
life  has  conjured  up.  There  may  have  been  no  premature 
burial,  the  physical  body  may  have  been  actually  dead  ; 
but  the  terrified  soul,  seeing  before  it  all  the  horrors  of  its 
own  vivid  imagination,  rushes  back  again  into  the  deserted 
body  and  clings  to  it  in  despair,  seeking  protection. 
Personal  consciousness  returns,  and  it  finds  itself  alive  in 
the  grave,  where  it  may  pass  a  second  time  through  the 
pangs  of  death,  or,  by  sending  out  its  astral  form  in  search 
of  sustenance  from  the  living,  it  may  become  a  vampire, 
and  prolong  for  a  while  its  horrible  existence.*  Such 
misfortunes  are  by  no  means  rare,  and  the  best  remedy 
for  it  is  knowledge  or  the  cremation  of  the  body  soon  after 
death. 

In  the  state  after  death  the  imagination  neither  creates 
new  and  original  forms  nor  is  it  capable  of  receiving  new 
impressions  ;  but  it — so  to  say — lives  on  the  sum  of  the 
impressions  accumulated  during  life,  which  may  evolute 
innumerable  variations  of  mental  estates,  symbolized  in 
their  corresponding  subjective  forms,  and  lasting  a  longer 
or  shorter  period  until  their  forces  are  exhausted.  These 
mental  states  may  be  called  illusive  in  the  same  sense  as 
the  forms  and  events  of  the  physical  life  may  be  called 
illusive,  and  life  in  "heaven"  or  "hell"  may  be  called  a 
dream,  in  the  same  sense  as  life  on  the  earth  is  called  a 
dream.  The  dream  of  life  only  differs  from  the  dream 
after  death,  that,  during  the  former,  we  are  able  to  make 
use  of  our  will  to  guide  and  control  our  imagination  and 
acts,  while  during  the  latter  that  guidance  is  wanting,  and 
we  earn  that  which  we  have  sown,  whether  it  is  pleasant  or 
not.  No  effort,  whether  for  good  or  for  evil,  is  ever  lost. 
Those  who  have  reached  out  in  their  imagination  towards 
a  high  ideal  on  earth  will  find  it  in  heaven  ;  those  whose 
desires  have  dragged  them  down  will  sink  to  the  level  of 
their  desires. 

It  is  said  that  the  most  material  and  sensual  thoughts 
create  forms  in  the  subjective  condition  which  will  appear 
to  him  who  created  them,  after  he  enters  that  sphere,  even 


^Maximilian  Perty  :  "  Die  mystischen  Erscheinungen  in  der  Natur." 


HAPPINESS.  155 

more  gross,  dense  and  material,  than  the  material  forms 
of  the  terrestrial  world  j  nor  does  this  seem  incomprehen- 
sible, if  we  remember  that  everything  is  composed  of 
thought-substance,  and  that  the  terms  "  density,"  "  mate- 
riality," etc.,  are  merely  relative  terms.  What  appear  to  us 
dense  and  material  now,  may  appear  ethereal  or  vaporous, 
if  we  are  in  another  state,  and  things  which  are  invisible  to 
us  now  may  appear  grossly  material  then.  A  due 
consideration  of  the  relations  existing  between  conscious- 
ness and  what  we  call  "  matter"  will  make  it  appear  that 
there  may  be  worlds  more  dense  and  material  to  its 
inhabitants  than  our  physical  world  is  to  us;  for  it 
is  the  light  of  the  spirit  that  enlivens  matter,  and 
the  more  matter  is  attracted  by  sensuality  and  con- 
centrated by  selfishness,  the  less  penetrable  to  the 
spirit  will  it  become,  and  the  more  dense  and  hard  will  it 
grow,  although  it  may  for  all  that  not  be  perceptible  to  our 
physical  senses ;  the  latter  being  adapted  merely  to  our 
present  state  of  existence. 

We  should  enter  the  higher  life  now,  instead  of  waiting 
for  it  to  come  to  us  in  the  hereafter.  The  term  "  heaven  " 
means  a  state  of  spiritual  consciousness  and  enjoyment 
of  spiritual  truths ;  but  how  can  he  who  has  evolved  no 
such  consciousness  and  no  spiritual  power  of  perception 
enjoy  the  perception  of  things  which  he  has  not  the  power 
to  perceive  ?  A  man  without  that  faculty  entering  heaven 
would  be  like  a  man  blind  and  deaf  and  without  the  power 
to  feel.  Man  can  only  enjoy  that  which  he  is  able  to 
realize,  that  which  he  cannot  perceive  does  not  exist  for 
him. 

The  surest  way  to  be  happy  is  to  rise  above  all  selfish 
considerations.  People  crave  for  amusement  and  pas- 
times ;  but  to  forget  one's  time  is  to  forget  one's  self,  and 
by  forgetting  themselves  they  are  rendered  glad.  People 
are  rendered  temporarily  happy  by  illusions,  because  while 
they  enjoy  an  illusion,  they  forget  their  own  personal 
selves.  The  charm  of  music  consists  in  the  temporary 
absorption  it  causes  to  the  personality  in  the  harmony  of 
sound.  If  we  witness  a  theatrical  performance  and  enter 
into  the  sprit  of  the  play,  we  forget  our  personal  sorrows 
and  live — so  to  say — in  the  personality  of  the  actor.  The 
ictor  who  understands  how  to  absorb  our  attention, 
ibsorbs  our  personal  consciousness  and  becomes  inspired 


156  IVORS  HIP. 

by  our  own  enthusiasm  ;  an  actor  from  whom  the  sympathy 
of  the  audience  is  withheld,  will  find  it  difficult  to  play  his 
part  well.  An  orator  who  is  in  full  accord  with  his 
audience  becomes  inspired  with  the  sentiments  of  his 
audience  ;  it  is  his  audience  that  gives  expressions  of  his 
feelings  through  him  ;  while  he  speaks  he  may  forget  the 
part  he  has  intended  to  speak  and  give  expression  to  that 
which  his  audience  feels.  Without  being  aware  of  it,  we 
actually  live  and  feel  and  think  within  each  other. 

If  we  enter  a  cathedral  or  a  temple,  whose  architecture 
inspires  sublimity  and  solemnity,  expanding  the  soul ; 
where  the  language  of  music  speaks  to  the  heart,  drawing 
it  away  from  the  attachment  to  the  earth ;  if  the  beauty 
and  odor  of  flowers  lull  the  senses  into  a  forgetfulness  of 
self,  such  illusions  may  render  us  temporarily  happy  to  an 
extent  proportionate  to  the  degree  in  which  they  succeed 
in  destroying  our  consciousness  of  personality  and  self, 
and  as  such  they  are  immeasurably  better  than-  other 
illusions  that  appeal  to  the  lower  personal  self;  but  if  we 
seek  for  the  truth  in  the  outward  expression  of  a  form, 
instead  of  looking  for  it  in  the  principle  which  the  ferm  is 
to  represent,  we  will  be  led  into  darkness  instead  of  being 
led  into  light.  For  this  reason  the  belief  in  external  gods 
strengthens  the  illusions  of  self;  they  induce  men  to 
become  cowards,  to  ask  for  favors  which  they  do  not 
deserve,  in  preference  to  other  men  that  deserve  them  ; 
they  help  to  establish  the  autocracy  of  priests,  and  to  put 
the  false  priest  upon  a  throne  from  which  the  true  god  has 
been  excluded.  Such  misconceptions  destroy  the  dignity 
of  mankind,  and  a  religious  system  based  upon  such  prac- 
tices degrades  men  instead  of  elevating  their  character. 
He  who  has  grown  to  live  above  the  illusion  of  form  and 
recognizes  the  existence  of  the  true  god  in  his  heart,  needs 
no  illusions  to  guide  his  attention.  He  carries  the  temple 
of  the  eternal  God  in  his  own  soul,  and  worships  it  without 
ceremonies  and  rites,  by  perpetual  adoration. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

CONSCIOUSNESS. 
"  I  am  that  I  am."— Bible. 

EVERYTHING  in  the  universe  is  a  manifestation  of  mind  ; 
for  the  universe  itself  is  an  expression  of  eternal  wisdom. 
Everything  therefore  is  mind  ;  possessing  consciousness  in 
the  absolute,  and  being  capable  of  manifesting  relative  con- 
sciousness. Consciousness  in  the  Absolute  means  uncon- 
sciousness in  relation  to  things.  Absolute  self -consciousness 
means  the  full  realization  of  one's  own  existence, a  godlike 
state  of  self-existence,  independent  of  any  external  object ;  a 
state  of  eternal  life  within  one's  own  light.  Self-conscious- 
ness means  the  realization  of  one's  own  existence  indepen- 
dent of  other  things  ;  while  relative  co?tsciousness  means 
the  realization  of  one's  own  existence  with  reference  to 
the  objects  of  one's  perception.  Unconsciousness  in  the 
absolute  is  non-existence,  a  term  without  meaning ;  while 
relative  unconsciousness  means  ignorance  in  regard  to  that 
of  which  one  does  not  know  that  it  exists.  Consciousness 
means  knowledge  and  life ;  unconsciousness  is  ignorance 
and  death.  An  imperfect  knowledge  is  a  state  of  imperfect 
consciousness  in  relation  to  the  object  of  knowledge  ;  the 
highest  possible  state  of  consciousness  is  the  full  realization 
of  the  truth.  Consciousness  means  existence.  Non-con- 
sciousness is  non-existence, — nothing.  Self-consciousness 

'57 


I58  RELATIVE  CONSCIOUSNESS. 

is  self-existent,  independent  of  any  object.  Relative  exist- 
ence is  the  consciousness  of  the  relation  between  subject 
and  object. 

A  thing  has  no  existence  relatively  to  ourselves  before 
we  become  conscious  of  its  existence.  A  person  who  does 
not  realize  his  own  existence  is  unconscious,  and  for 
the  time  being,  to  all  practical  purposes,  as  far  as  he  him- 
self is  concerned,  dead.  A  state  of  existence  is  incompre- 
hensible unless  it  is  experienced  and  realized,  and  it  begins 
to  be  from  the  moment  that  it  is  realized.  If  a  person 
were  the  legal  possessor  of  millions  of  money  and  did  not 
know  it,  he  would  have  no  means  to  dispose  of  it  or  enjoy 
it.  A  man  may  be  present  at  the  delivery  of  the  most 
eloquent  speech,  and,  unless  he  hears  what  is  said,  that 
speech  will  have  no  existence  for  him.  Every  man  is 
endowed  with  reason  and  conscience,  but  if  he  never  listens 
to  its  voice,  the  relation  between  him  and  his  conscience 
will  cease  to  exist,  and  it  will  die  for  him  in  proportion  as 
he  loses  the  power  to  hear  it.  Symbols  have  a  meaning 
to  him  who  understands  their  meaning,  but  for  the  ignorant 
nothing  but  the  forms  which  he  sees  and  feels  exist ;  their 
meaning  has  no  existence  for  him. 

A  man  may  be  alive  and  conscious  in  relation  to  one 
thing,  and  dead  and  unconscious  relatively  to  another. 
One  set  of  his  faculties  may  be  active  and  conscious,  while 
another  set  may  be  unconscious  and  its  activity  suspended. 
A  person  who  listens  attentively  to  music  may  be  conscious 
of  nothing  but  sound ;  one  who  is  wrapt  in  the  admiration 
of  form  is  only  conscious  of  seeing  ;  another,  who  suffers 
from  pain,  may  be  conscious  of  nothing  but  the  relation 
that  exists  between  him  and  the  sensation  of  pain.  A  man 
absorbed  in  thought  may  believe  himself  alone  in  the  midst 
of  a  crowd.  He  may  be  threatened  by  destruction  and  be 
unconscious  of  the  danger.  He  may  have  the  strength  of 
a  lion,  and  it  will  avail  him  nothing  unless  he  becomes 
conscious  of  it ;  he  cannot  be  immortal  unless  he  becomes 
conscious  of  immortal  life.  The  more  a  person  learns  to 
realize  the  true  state  of  his  existence,  the  more  will  he 
become  conscious  of  his  existence.  If  he  does  not 
realize  his  true  position,  illusions  will  be  the  result.  If  he 
fully  knows  himself  and  his  surroundings,  he  will  be  con- 
scious of  his  own  powers,  he  will  know  how  to  exercise 
them  and  become  strong. 


PERCEPTION'.  159 

To  become  conscious  of  the  existence  of  a  thing  is  to 
perceive  it.  To  perceive  it  means  to  enter  into  relation 
with  it,  and  to  feel  the  existence  of  that  relation.  Life  itself 
is  a  manifestation  of  consciousness  ;  motion  is  a  manifest- 
ation of  life.  A  thing  without  consciousness  of  any  kind 
is  unthinkable  and  could  not  exist.  Even  the  most  immov- 
able mountains  are  states  of  mind,  corporified  eternal 
thoughts,  and  as  such  they  are  expressions  of  consciousness. 
They  feel  the  power  of  gravitation,  and  speak  through  the 
mouth  of  the  echo.  The  body  of  our  mother  earth,  although 
devoid  of  self-consciousness  and  intellectual  reasoning,  is 
nevertheless  conscious  of  the  presence  of  the  sun,  turning 
with  incredible  velocity  around  its  axis ;  each  of  its  parts 
strives  to  receive  the  full  influence  of  his  light,  and  after 
receiving  his  blessing  gives  way  to  another  part  to  be 
blessed  likewise.  Stars  and  planets,  worlds  and  molecules, 
are  attracted  toward  each  other,  all  by  the  action  of  eternal 
love,  which  could  produce  no  reaction  on  absolute  uncon- 
sciousness if  such  a  thing  could  exist. 

Absolute  self-consciousness  belongs  only  to  God.  He 
alone  is  self-existent  and  independent  of  any  outside  con- 
ditions. He  is  self-sufBcient,  and  needs  nothing  to  excite 
consciousness  or  knowledge  in  Him.  Man's  self-conscious- 
ness, in  so  far  as  the  realization  of  a  divine  presence  has 
not  awakened  within  him,  is  as  much  an  illusion  on  his 
imaginary  self-existence,  because  it  is  then  not  his  true 
real  "  I,"  but  nature  that  has  become  self-conscious  in 
him  ;  producing  that  ever  changing  and  impermanent  sense 
of  the  ego,  which  appears  from  hour  to  hour  and  from  day 
to  day  chameleon-like  under  different  attributes.  This 
artificially  produced  ego  is  a  mere  nothing,  and  one  proof 
of  it  is  that  the  great  majority  of  people  continually  re- 
quire some  stimulus  to  enable  them  to  know  that  they 
exist.  If  they  are  alone  and  without  "  pastime  "  they 
are  miserable.  If  they  are  only  in  company  with  them- 
selves, they  are  then  in  company  with  nothing.  Without 
an  amusement  of  some  kind  they  would  become  insane  or 
die. 

But  he,  in  whom  the  divine  consciousness  of  his  true 
inner  self  has  awakened,  will  require  no  external  stimulus 
to  let  him  know  that  he  lives.  He  may  be  shut  up  in  a 
prison  or  in  a  tomb,  he  carries  his  own  light  with  him ;  he 
cares  little  for  the  company  of  men,  if  he  is  in  company 
with  his  God. 


160  SLEEP. 

Man  is  an  organism,  in  which  either  God  or  nature,  or 
the  antithesis  of  God,  the  devil,  may  become  self-conscious. 
If  only  nature  is  self-conscious  in  him,  he  has  then  no  real 
life  or  consciousness  of  his  own.  It  is  absurd  of  him  to 
speak  of  dying,  because  he  has  never  yet  come  to  life.  If 
God  has  become  self-conscious  in  him,  he  will  be  one  with 
God,  whose  temple  he  is,  If  the  self-consciousness  of  the 
devil  resides  in  his  house,  then  is  he  a  personal  devil  for 
all  practical  purposes  and  intents. 

From  the  moment  that  man  becomes  relatively  conscious 
of  the  existence  of  a  spiritual  power  within  his  soul,  he 
enters  into  relationship  to  that  power,  he  attains  spiritual 
consciousness ;  but  it  may  still  be  a  long  time  until  that 
power  becomes  fully  alive  and  self-conscious  in  him. 

The  vulgar  have  only  the  consciousness  of  the  animal 
within  themselves.  It  is  the  hog  in  one  that  is  given  to 
gluttony ;  the  goat  in  another  that  is  given  to  lewdness ; 
the  tiger  in  one  that  kills  ;  the  snake  in  another  that  stings 
by  the  power  of  calumny ;  the  fox  in  another  from  which 
he  receives  his  cunning.  They  are  houses  which  the  master 
has  never  inhabited,  or  which  he  has  deserted,  and  which 
are  filled  with  animals.  It  is  the  animals  that  are  living 
and  acting  in  them,  the  persons  themselves  have  no  life. 

As  everything  that  exists  is  of  a  threefold  nature,  so 
there  are  three  modes  of  perception  :  the  physical  percep- 
tion, the  perception  of  the  soul,  and  the  spiritual  perception. 
The  former  reaches  the  surface  of  things,  the  second  the 
soul,  and  the  third  reaches  into  their  innermost  centres. 
To  see  is  to  think  with  the  organ  of  sight.  A  thought  sent 
to  the  surface  of  the  object  of  perception  will  see  only  the 
surface  ;  a  thought  becoming  conscious  in  the  centre  will 
see  that  which  exists  at  the  centre. 

Everything  that  exists,  exists  within  the  Universal  Mind, 
and  nothing  can  exist  beyond  it,  because  the  Universal 
Mind  includes  all,  and  there  is  no  "  beyond."  Percep- 
tion is  a  faculty  by  which  mind  learns  to  know  what  is 
going  on  within  itself.  Man  can  know  nothing  but  what 
exists  within  his  own  mind.  Even  the  most  ardent  lover 
has  never  seen  his  beloved  one,  he  merely  sees  the  image 
which  the  form  of  the  latter  produces  in  his  or  her  mind. 

If  we  pass  through  the  streets  of  a  city  the  images  of 
men  and  women  pass  review  in  our  mind  while  their  bodies 
meet  our  own ;  but  for  the  images  which  they  produce 


INNER  SENSES.  161 

within  pur  consciousness,  we  would  know  nothing  about 
their  existence.  The  images  produced  in  the  mind  come  to 
the  consciousness  whose  seat  is  the  brain ;  if  man's  con- 
sciousness were  centered  in  some  other  part  of  his  body, 
he  would  become  conscious  in  that  part  of  the  sensations 
which  he  receives.  He  might,  for  instance,  see  with  his 
stomach  or  hear  with  his  fingers,  as  has  been  actually  the 
case  in  some  somnambulic  states. 

From  the  relations  existing  between  object  and  subject, 
physical  senses  came  into  existence.  There  could  be  no 
perception  without  resistance.  If  our  bodies  were  per- 
fectly transparent  to  light  we  could  not  perceive  the  light, 
because  light  cannot  illuminate  itself.  The  Astral  Light 
penetrates  our  bodies,  but  we  are  not  able  to  see  it  with 
our  physical  eyes,  because  the  physical  body  offers  no 
resistance  to  it ;  but  when  the  physical  body  begins  to 
sleep,  and  life  retires  from  the  outer  into  the  inner  man, 
the  astral  man  may  become  conscious  of  the  existence  of 
that  higher  light,  and  see  it  like  beautiful  stars,  or  sheets  of 
light,  resembling  the  electric  light  falling  through  a  crystal 
globe. 

At  the  time  when  we  fall  asleep,  consciousness  gradually 
leaves  its  seat  in  the  brain  and  merges  into  the  conscious- 
ness of  the  "  inner  man"  It  may  then  begin  to  realize 
another  state  of  existence ;  and  if  a  part  of  the  conscious- 
ness still  remain  with  the  brain,  the  perception  of  the  inner 
consciousness  may  come  to  the  cognizance  of  the  lower 
personal  self.  We  may,  therefore,  in  that  half-conscious 
state,  between  sleeping  and  waking,  when  our  conscious- 
ness is — so  to  say — oscillating  between  two  states  of  exist-  • 
ence,  receive  important  revelations  from  the  higher  state 
and  retain  them  in  the  memory  of  the  external  self.  The 
more  our  consciousness  merges  in  that  higher  state,  the 
better  will  we  realize  the  higher  existence,  but  the  impres- 
sions upon  our  personal  self  will  become  dim  and  perhaps 
not  be  remembered ;  but  as  long  as  the  greatest  part  of 
our  consciousness  is  active  within  the  material  brain,  the 
perceptions  of  the  higher  state  will  only  be  dim  and  mixed 
up  with  memories  and  sensations  of  the  lower  state  of 
existence  ;  the  images  will  be  confused. 

When  the  turmoil  of  external  life  ceases  and  the  external 
senses  come  to  rest,  then  is  the  time  for  the  inner  senses 
t,  become  more  active,  and  then  the  neophyte  may  enjoy 

6 


162  HAUNTED  HOUSES. 

communion  with  his  master,  the  divine  Adonai.  Then 
may  he  receive  lessons  from  the  world  of  the  spirit,  and 
problems  that  were  too  difficult  for  him  to  be  solved  while 
his  external  senses  were  fully  alive  may  now  become  clear 
to  him  in  his  "  sleep,"  and  even  be  remembered  when  he 
"  awakens  "  again  to  external  life. 

The  tranquillity  of  the  outer  senses  facilitates  the  action 
of  the  inner  senses.  It  is  said  of  Socrates,  that  he  once 
stood  for  eighteen  hours  immovable  and  absorbed  in 
thought ;  but  in  the  fully  illuminated  seer,  the  external  and 
internal  consciousness  are  as  one.  Jacob  Boehme  was  in 
a  state  of  divine  illumination  for  three  weeks,  and  followed 
during  that  time  his  occupation  as  a  shoemaker. 

Life,  sensation,  perception  and  consciousness  may  be 
withdrawn  from  the  physical  body  and  become  active  in 
the  astral  body  of  man.  The  astral  man  may  then  become 
conscious  of  his  own  existence  independent  of  the  physical 
body,  and  develop  his  faculties  of  sense.  He  may  then  see 
sights  which  have  no  existence  for  the  physical  eye,  he 
may  hear  sounds  that  the  physical  ear  cannot  hear,  he  may 
feel,  taste,  and  smell  things  whose  existence  the  physical 
senses  cannot  realize,  and  which  consequently  have  no 
existence  to  them. 

What  an  astonishing  sight  would  meet  the  eyes  of  a 
mortal,  if  the  veil  that  mercifully  hides  the  astral  world 
from  his  sight  were  to  be  suddenly  removed  !  He  would 
see  the  space  which  he  inhabits  occupied  by  a  different 
world  full  of  inhabitants,  of  whose  existence  he  knew 
nothing.  What  before  appeared  to  him  dense  and  solid 
would  now  seem  to  be  shadowy,  and  what  seemed  to  him 
like  air  space  he  would  find  peopled  with  life. 

All  houses  are  "  haunted,"  but  not  all  persons  are  equally 
able  to  see  the  ghosts  that  haunt  them,  because  to  perceive 
things  on  the  astral  plane  requires  the  development  of  a 
sense  adapted  to  such  perceptions.  Thoughts  are  "  ghosts," 
and  only  those  that  can  see  thoughts  can  see  "  ghosts," 
unless  the  latter  are  sufficiently  materialized  to  refract  the 
light  and  to  become  visible  to  the  eye. 

Nor  is  it  necessary  that  the  person  whose  "  ghost " 
haunts  a  house  should  have  died.  There  are  many  living 
persons  whose  spirits  haunt  the  houses  which  they  formerly 
inhabited.  Each  thought,  expressed  with  a  certain  intensity 
of  will ;  each  curse  and  each  blessing  that  comes  from  the 


SEEING  IS  FEELING.  163 

heart,  gives  birth  to  a  spirit  that  may  haunt  a  place  and 
even  produce  external  and  visible  effects  under  certain 
conditions. 

We  may  feel  the  presence  of  an  astral  form  without 
being  able  to  see  it,  and  be  just  as  certain  of  its  presence 
as  if  we  did  behold  it  with  our  eyes ;  for  the  sense  of  feel- 
ing is  not  less  reliable  than  the  sense  of  sight.  The  pre- 
sence of  a  holy,  high,  and  exalted  idea  that  enters  the 
mind  fills  it  with  a  feeling  of  happiness,  with  an  exhila- 
rating influence  whose  vibrations  may  be  perceived  long 
after  that  thought  has  gone. 

Each  human  being  may  be  looked  upon  as  an  unlimited 
sphere  of  consciousness  with  a  visible  centre.  Each 
resembles  a  living  nebula,  of  which  only  the  solid  kernel 
is  visible.  Visible  man  is  not  all  there  is  of  man  ;  but 
surrounded  by  an  invisible  mental  atmosphere,  comparable 
to  the  pulp  surrounding  the  seed  in  a  fruit ;  but  this  light, 
or  atmosphere,  or  pulp,  is  the  mind  of  man,  an  organized 
ocean  of  spiritual  substance,  wherein  all  things  exist.  If 
man  were  conscious  of  his  own  greatness,  he  would  know 
that  within  himself  exists  the  sun  and  the  moon  and  the 
starry  sky  and  every  object  in  space,  because  his  true  self 
is  God  and  God  is  without  limits. 

To  see  a  thing  is  identical  with  feeling  it  with  the  mind. 
The  mind  of  man  extends  through  space ;  it  is  therefore  not 
merely  the  images  of  things  we  see  but  the  things  them- 
selves that  exist  within  the  periphery  of  our  mind,  however 
distant  from-the  centre  of  our  consciousness  they  may  be ; 
and  if  we  were  able  to  shift  that  centre  from  one  place  to 
another  within  the  sphere  of  the  mind,  we  might  in  a 
moment  of  time  approach  to  the  object  of  our  perception. 

If  you  throw  a  handful  of  sand  into  a  quiet  lake,  does 
not  every  grain  form  a  centre  of  motion  upon  the  surface, 
from  whence  proceed  concentric  waves  in  all  directions  ? 
Can  you  tell  where  the  realm  of  one  such  motion  is  limited, 
and  do  they  not  all  move  in  the  same  lake  ?  Likewise  each 
individual  being  constitutes  a  centre  of  consciousness  in 
the  sea  of  eternity,  whose  ripples  of  thought  extend  into 
the  depths  of  the  infinite  mind. 

As  it  is,  the  centre  of  consciousness  of  normally  con- 
stituted man  is  located  in  the  brain,  and,  if  the  mind  feels 
an  object,  the  impressions  have  to  travel  all  the  way  to  the 
brain.  If  we  look  at  a  distant  star  our  mind  is  actually 


1 64  TRANSFER  OF  CONSCIOUSNESS. 

there  and  in  contact  with  it,  and  if  we  could  transfer  our 
consciousness  to  that  place  of  contact,  we  would  be  our- 
selves upon  that  star  and  perceive  the  objects  thereon  as 
if  we  were  standing  personally  upon  its  surface. 

If  we  were  not  able  to  feel  with  the  mind,  we  would  not 
be  able  to  become  conscious  of  the  character  of  the  things 
we  see  and  whose  qualities  are  invisible  to  us ;  but  the 
individual  spheres  of  beings  enter  and  pervade  each  other 
and  exchange  their  sensations  like  the  circular  rings  pro- 
duced if  a  handful  of  pebbles  is  thrown  into  a  lake. 

Perception  \spassivc  imagination,  because  if  we  perceive 
an  object,  the  relation  which  it  bears  to  us  comes  to  our 
consciousness  without  any  active  exertion  on  our  part. 
But  there  is  an  active  perception  or  imagination  by  which 
we  may  enter  into  a  relation  with  a  distant  object  in  space 
by  a  transfer  of  consciousness.  By  this  power  we  may  act 
upon  a  distant  object  if  we  succeed  in  forming  a  true  image 
of  it  in  our  own  consciousness.  By  concentrating  our 
consciousness  upon  such  an  object  we  become  conscious 
in  that  place  of  the  sphere  of  mind  where  that  object  exists. 
Instead  of  perceiving  an  already  existing  relation  we 
establish  consciously  a  relation  between  such  an  object  and 
ourselves.  If  I  can  form  in  my  mind  a  true  image  of  an 
absent  person,  and  cling  to  it  with  my  will,  I  am  then 
identified  in  my  mind  with  that  person,  and  am  actually 
with  him  or  her.  My  real  "  I  "  is  everywhere,  and  wherever 
I  locate  my  consciousness,  there  am  I  consciously  myself, 
all  except  the  physical  fojm.  How  could  I  be  nearer  to  a 
friend  than  to  be  in  perfect  harmony  with  his  soul,  and 
identified  with  him  in  his  own  consciousness  ? 

Consciousness  is  existence,  and  there  are  as  many  states 
of  consciousness  as  there  are  states  of  existence.  Every 
living  being  has  a  consciousness  of  its  own,  the  result  of  its 
sensations,  and  the  state  of  its  consciousness  changes  every 
moment  of  time,  as  fast  as  the  impressions  which  it  receives 
change  ;  because  its  consciousness  is  the  perception  of  the 
relation  it  bears  to  things,  and  as  this  relation  changes, 
consciousness  changes  its  character. 

If  our  whole  attention  is  taken  up  by  animal  pleasure,  we 
exist  in  an  animal  state  of  consciousness  ;  if  we  are  aware 
of  the  presence  of  spiritual  principles,  such  as  hope,  faith, 
charity,  justice,  truth,  etc.,  in  their  highest  aspects,  we  live 
in  our  spiritual  consciousness,  and  between  the  two 


SELF  CONSCIOUSNESS.  165 

extremes  there  are  a  great  variety  of  gradations.  Con- 
sciousness itself  does  not  change,  it  only  moves  up  and 
down  on  the  scale  of  existence. 

There  is  only  one  kind  of  consciousness  which  never 
changes  its  form,  because  its  relation  to  things  never 
changes,  it  being  in  relation  with  nothing  except  with 
itself.  It  is  the  divine  consciousness  of  existence  per  se, 
the  realization  of  the  /  am.  It  cannot  change,  because 
existence  per  se  never  changes  ;  its  change  would  involve 
non-existence  or  the  annihilation  of  all. 

When  the  Absolute  One  Life  becomes  relative  in  a  form 
the  degree  of  its  manifestation  depends  on  the  state  of  the 
activity  of  life  expressed  in  the  organization  of  its  form. 
In  a  low  organized  form  there  may  be  sensation,  but  there 
is  no  intelligence.  An  oyster  has  sensation  and  con- 
sciousness, but  no  intelligence  and  no  power  of  discrimin- 
ation. A  man  may  have  a  great  deal  of  intellect  and  no 
consciousness  of  the  existence  of  spirituality,  sublimity, 
justice,  beauty,  or  truth.  If  these  divine  principles  have 
become  fully  alive  and  self-conscious  in  him  ;  then,  and 
only  then,  is  he  in  possession  of  Divine  Wisdom. 

The  lowest  existences  follow  implicitly  the  laws  of  nature 
or  of  Universal  Wisdom;  they  have  no  wisdom  of  their 
own.  The  highest  spiritual  beings  follow  their  own  wisdom ; 
but  their  wisdom  is  identical  with  the  universal  law.  The 
difference  between  the  lowest  beings  and  the  highest  ones 
is,  therefore,  that  the  lowest  ones  perform  the  will  of  God 
unconsciously  and  unknowingly ;  while  the  highest  ones 
do  the  same  thing  knowingly  and  consciously.  It  is  only 
the  intermediary  beings  between  the  lowest  and  highest 
who  imagine  that  they  are  their  own  law-givers,  and  may 
do  what  they  please. 

The  muscular  system  exercises  its  habitual  movements 
in  the  act  of  walking,  eating,  etc.,  without  being  especially 
guided  by  a  superintending  intellect,  like  a  clockwork 
that,  after  being  once  set  in  motion,  continues  to  run ;  and 
a  man  who  is  in  the  habit  of  doing  that  which  is  right  and 
just,  will  act  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  justice  instinct- 
ively, and  without  any  consideration  or  doubt. 

Each  state  or  existence  has  its  own  mode  of  perception, 
sensation,  instinct,  consciousness  and  memory,  and  the 
activity  of  one  may  overpower  and  suppress  that  of  the 
other.  A  person  being  only  conscious  of  the  sensations 


166  VS2SDOM. 

created  by  some  physical  act,  is  at  that  time  unconscious 
of  spiritual  attractions.  One  who  is  under  the  influence  of 
chloroform  may  lose  all  his  external  sensation  of  pain,  and 
yet  be  conscious  of  his  surroundings.  One  in  a  state  of 
trance  may  be  fully  awake  on  a  higher  plane  of  existence, 
and  entirely  unconscious  of  what  happens  on  the  physical 
plane.  The  muscular  system  may  be  semi-conscious  and 
overpower  the  intellect,  or  the  conscious  and  intelligent 
brain  may  control  the  muscular  system. 

A  person  may  climb  up  to  the  most  dizzy  heights  of  a 
tower  or  a  mountain  peak,  and  if  there  is  a  rail  or  a  stair- 
case to  afford  him  even  an  imaginary  protection,  he  will 
not  be  very  liable  to  become  overpowered  by  the  sense  of 
danger.  His  intellect  may  be  aware  of  danger,  but  reason 
teaches  the  unreasoning  animal  man,  filling  the  muscular 
system  with  the  sensation  of  security,  and  he  will  not  be 
very  liable  to  fall.  But  if  you  remove  the  protection,  the 
sensation  of  danger  presenting  itself  before  the  mind 
impresses  the  unreasoning  animal  instincts  with  the  over- 
powering illusion  of  fear,  and  danger  may  become  immi- 
nent. The  body  becomes  conscious  "of  the  attraction  of 
the  chasm,  the  intellect  too  weak  to  guide  the  will  to  resist 
the  tendency  of  the  excited  body  to  follow  that  attraction, 
and  the  person  may  fall. 

The  unintelligent  muscular  system  is  conscious  of 
nothing  else  but  the  attraction  of  Earth.  In  it  the  element 
of  Earth  predominates,  and  unless  it  is  upheld  by  the 
intellect  and  will,  it  seeks  to  act  according  to  the  impulse 
created  in  it  by  that  attraction.  The  astral  body  per  se  is 
unintelligent,  and  unless  infused  with  the  intelligence 
coming  from  the  higher  principles,  it  follows  the  attrac- 
tions of  the  astral  plane.  These  attractions  are  the 
emotions  created  by  desires.  As  the  physical  body,  if 
unguided  by  reason,  may  fall  and  perish  by  the  fall,  so  the 
astral  body,  following  the  attractions  of  love  and  hate, 
may  refuse  to  obey  the  intelligent  principle  of  man,  and 
seek  its  own  destruction.  The  animal  consciousness  of 
man  is  that  unreasoning  brute  instinct  which  impels  him 
to  seek  for  the  gratification  of  his  natural  desires. 

Correctly  speaking,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  animal 
reason,  animal  intellect,  animal  consciousness,  etc.  Con- 
sciousness, reason,  intelligence,  etc.,  in  the  absolute,  have 
no  qualifications  ;  they  are  universal  principles,  that  is  to 


ATTRACTION.  167 

say,  functions  of  the  Universal  One  Life,  manifesting 
themselves  on  various  planes  in  mineral,  vegetable,  animal, 
human,  astral  and  transcendental  forms. 

The  condition  of  a  person  whose  consciousness  is  no 
more  illuminated  by  reason,  is  seen  in  cases  of  emotional 
mania,  and  sometimes  in  cases  of  actual  obsession.  In 
such  cases  the  person  will  act  entirely  according  to  the 
impulses  acting  upon  his  lower  consciousness,  and  when 
he  recovers  his  reason,  be  entirely  unconscious  of  his 
actions  during  that  state.  Such  states  manifest  themselves 
in  only  one  person,  or  they  may  simultaneously  affect 
several  persons,  and  even  whole  countries,  becoming  epi- 
demic by  the  law  of  induction,  as  has  been  experienced  in 
some  wholesale  "  obsessions  "  occurring  during  the  Middle 
Ages.*  They  are  often  observed  in  cases  of  hysteria,  may 
be  witnessed  at  religious  meetings,  during  theatrical  per- 
formances, during  the  attack  upon  an  enemy,  or  at  any 
other  occasion,  where  the  passions  of  the  multitude  are 
excited,  inducing  them  to  acts  of  folly  or  bravery,  and 
enabling  people  to  perform  acts  which  they  would  be 
neither  willing  nor  able  to  perform  if  they  were  guided 
only  by  the  calculations  of  their  intellect. 

Merely  imaginary  self-consciousness  exist ;  when  thought 
and  will  are  divided.  We  then  live  in  our  imagi- 
nation ;  but  the  will  is  dormant  and  inactive.  Only  when 
will  and  thought  become  united  and  act  as  one  then  will 
true  self-consciousness  become  manifest.  The  self-con- 
scious will,  receiving  its  light  from  thought,  is  a  god  or  a 
devil  according  to  its  tincture.  In  its  full  development  it 
is  a  power  beyond  the  comprehension  of  normal  man.  It 
enables  its  possessor  to  blend  his  own  consciousness  with 
that  of  any  other  person,  to  enter  into  communication  with 
any  other  person  in  any  part  of  the  world,  although  that 
other  person  may  not  become  aware  of  his  presence, 
unless  he  has  developed  his  own  power  of  spiritual  per- 
ception to  a  certain  extent.  If  we  steadily  concentrate 
our  thought  upon  a  person  or  a  place,  the  highest  thought- 
energies,  residing  in  the  fifth  principle  of  man,  will  actually 
visit  that  place,  because  thought  is  not  bound  by  the  laws 
of  gross  matter  regarding  time  and  space,  and  we  are  able 
to  think  of  a  far-off  place  as  quick  as  of  one  that  is  near. 

*  "  Histoire  des  diables  de  Loudin." 


168  WILL  AND  THOUGHT. 

Our  thoughts  go  to  the  desired  locality,  for  that  locality, 
however  far  it  may  be,  is  still  within  the  sphere  of  mind. 
If  we  have  been  there  before,  or  if  there  is  something  to 
attract  us,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  find  it.  But  under 
ordinary  circumstances  our  consciousness  remains  with 
the  body.  We  may  even  realize  our  presence  at  the  place 
which  we  visit,  but  on  returning  to  our  normal  state  we 
cannot  remember  it,  because  the  semi-material  principles 
of  our  soul,  in  which  resides  memory,  have  not  been  there 
to  collect  impressions  and  transfer  them  to  the  physical 
brain.  But  if  our  will  has  become  one  with  our  thought 
so  as  to  accompany  the  latter,  then  our  consciousness  may 
go  with  them,  being  projected  there  by  the  power  of  the 
will,  and  illuminated  by  thought.  We  shall  then  visit  the 
chosen  place  consciously  and  know  what  we  are  doing,  and 
our  astral  elements  may  carry  our  memory  back  and  im- 
press them  upon  our  physical  brain.  The  reason  why  such 
things  sometimes  take  place  at  the  time  of  death,  and  the 
conscious  appearance  of  the  dying  person  occurs  at  a 
distant  place,  to  visit  a  friend,  is  because  at  the  time  cf 
dying  the  will  becomes  again  free  and  unites  with  the 
thought  of  the  person,  thus  forming  a  veritable  spirit,  a 
union  of  will  and  thought. 

It  sometimes  happens  that  the  "  double  "  of  a  sleeping 
person  is  attracted  to  a  distant  place  ;  acting,  however, 
like  an  automaton,  without  intelligence.  This  simply  shows 
that  the  will  of  the  person  was  not  set  free.  His  thought 
was  there,  but  not  his  conscious  will  ;  nor  could  the  will 
leave  the  sleeping  body  of  a  person  that  has  not  become 
sufficiently  spiritual,  because  the  will  is  the  life,  and  if  it 
were  to  leave  the  form  the  body  would  die. 

There  are  a  great  number  of  cases  on  record  where, 
in  consequence  of  a  sudden  and  intense  emotion,  for 
instance,  the  desire  to  see  a  certain  person,  the  will  has 
become  prominently  active,  and  projecting  itself  from  the 
physical  body  has  rendered  the  thought  of  the  person  con- 
scious and  visible  at  a  distance.  In  cases  of  home-sickness 
we  find  some  approach  to  an  instance  of  this.  The  person 
separated  from  home  and  friends,  having  an  intense  yearn- 
ing to  see  his  native  place  again,  projects  his  thoughts  and 
his  unconscious  will  to  that  place.  He  lives — so  to  say — 
spiritually  in  that  place,  while  his  physical  body  vegetates 
in  another.  The  life-elements  pass  more  and  more  to  these 


INTOXICATION.  169 

astral  elements  at  the  expense  of  the  life-elements  necessary 
to  supply  the  wants  of  the  physical  body.  There  seem  to 
be  nothing  particularly  important  the  matter  with  the 
patient,  he  has  a  little  fever,  becomes  weaker,  and  finally 
dies — that  is  to  say,  he  goes  where  he  desires  to  go, 
although  his  gradual  going  is  imperceptible  and  unrecogniz- 
able to  physical  senses. 

Sometimes  in  cases  of  sickness  a  similar  process  takes 
place.  When,  from  whatever  cause,  the  union  between  the 
physical  form  and  the  astral  body  becomes  weakened,  the 
astral  form  may  separate  itself  for  a  while  or  permanently 
from  the  physical  form  and  follow  a  stronger  attraction,  and 
in  such  cases  it  may  be  seen  by  persons  gifted  with  second 
sight. 

The  symptoms  of  such  a  beginning  of  separation  may 
often  be  observed  in  cases  of  severe  sickness,  when  the 
patient  has  the  sensation  as  if  another  person  were  lying  in 
the  same  bed  with  him,  and  as  if  that  person  were  in  some 
way  connected  with  him,  and  he  would  have  to  take  care 
of  the  latter.  As  recovery  takes  place,  the  principles 
whose  cohesion  has  been  loosened  become  reunited,  and 
that  sensation  disappears. 

A  higher  state  of  consciousness  than  that  of  the  normal 
state  is  often  observed  in  cases  of  trance  and  somnambu- 
lism ;  a  lower  state  than  the  normal  one  is  witnessed  in 
cases  of  drunkenness  or  intoxication  of  some  kind. 

A  case  is  cited  in  Dr.  Hammond's  book  on  insanity,  in 
which  a  servant,  while  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  carried  a 
package  with  which  he  had  been  entrusted  to  the  wrong 
house.  Having  become  sober,  he  could  not  remember  the 
place,  and  the  package  was  supposed  to  be  lost ;  but  after 
he  got  drunk  again  he  remembered  the  place,  he  went 
there  and  recovered  the  package.  This  goes  to  show  that 
when  he  was  drunk  he  was  another  person  than  when  he 
was  sober ;  man's  individuality  continually  changes  accord- 
ing to  the  conditions  in  which  he  exists,  and  as  his  con- 
sciousness changes  he  becomes  another  individual,  although 
he  still  retains  the  same  outward  form.  Instead  of  getting 
drunk  a  man  may  become  full  of  the  wine  of  the  spirit.  In 
that  case  he  may,  while  in  that  state,  write  down  very  high 
and  exalted  ideas,  which  he  may  not  fully  remember  after 
his  return  to  his  normal  state,  and  perhaps  he  may  then  not 
even  understand  his  own  writings. 


1 7o  TRANCE. 

If  a  person  is  in  the  hypnotic  state,  subject  to  the  will 
"  magnetizer,"  it  is  the  consciousness  of  the  latter 
which  takes  possession  of  the  former,  and  uses  his  mental 
organism  as  if  it  were  his  own.  If  a  hypnotizer  causes  his 
subject  to  commit  a  crime,  it  is  he  who  commits  it  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  hypnotized  ;  if  a  medium  lies,  it 
is  the  lying  thoughts  of  him  who  consults  the  medium  that 
are  echoed  back  through  the  latter,  nor  could  he  be  a 
genuine  medium  if  he  did  not  reflect  lies  as  well  as  the 
truth. 

All  men  are  mirrors,  in  which  the  world  is  reflected  ;  all 
men  are  mirrors  reflecting  each  other's  thoughts  and 
acting  them  out.  Experience  shows,  that  there  is  not  a 
day  in  the  year  that  not  some  hypnotizer  consciously  or  un- 
consciously commits  a  crime  through  another  person  ;  and 
while  the  real  culprit  goes  scot  free,  the  weak-minded 
instrument  is  punished.  Thousands  of  marriages  are  the 
outcome  of  "  hypnotization."  Man  exists  as  an  individual 
only  as  long  as  he  is  in  possession  of  divine  reason,  and 
this  reason  is  not  an  attribute  of  the  human  form,  but  a 
function  of  the  divine  Spirit  which  illuminates  it. 

In  the  state  of  trance  the  consciousness  is  entirely  con- 
centrated on  the  higher  planes,  and  the  mind  may  even 
forget  the  existence  of  the  physical  body.  In  the  state  of 
intoxication  the  person  may  only  be  conscious  of  his  animal 
existence  and  entirely  unconscious  of  his  higher  self.  A 
somnambule  in  the  lucid  condition  looks  upon  her  body  as 
a  being  distinct  from  her  own  self,  who  is,  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent, under  her  care.  She  speaks  of  that  being  in  the  third 
person,  prescribes  sometimes  for  it  as  a  physician  prescribes 
for  his  patient,  and  often  shows  tastes,  inclinations  and 
opinions  entirely  opposed  to  those  which  she  possesses  in 
her  normal  condition.  Somnambules  often  give  promises 
which  they  fulfil  when  they  return  to  their  normal  condi- 
tion, although,  when  they  awake,  they  do  not  remember  of 
ever  having  made  any  promise  at  all. 

If  man's  consciousness  changes  from  one  state  to  another, 
his  tastes  and  inclinations  change  accordingly.  While  his 
thoughts  revel  in  animal  pleasures,  the  realm  of  the  spirit 
will  be  closed  to  him,  nor  will  he  desire  to  enter  it ;  if  he 
has  once  attained  the  power  to  perceive  the  things  of  the 
spirit,  animal  pleasures  and  the  knowledge  of  which  terres- 
trial science  is  proud  will  appear  absolutely  worthless  to 


THE  HIGHEST  STA  TE.  171 

him.  Persons  while  in  a  trance  may  love  another  person 
intensely,  because  they  are  then  capable  to  perceive  his 
interior  qualities,  and  they  may  detest  him  when  they  are  in 
their  normal  condition,  because  they  then  merely  behold 
his  external  attributes.* 

This  higher  self,  which  often  seems  to  care  so  little  for 
the  earthly  troubles  that  vex  and  perplex  the  lower  self,  is 
the  real  man,  who  continues  to  live  when  the  body  of  the 
person  with  which  he  is  connected  during  life  no  longer 
exists.  It  is  the  individual  which,  through  a  long  chain  of 
reincarnations,  has  become  connected  with  many  person- 
alities, extracting  from  each  the  elements  which  are  worthy 
to  be  preserved,  and  assimilating  them  with  his  own.  Only 
few  persons  mentioned  in  history  have  succeeded  in  uniting 
their  personality  with  their  own  divine  and  impersonal 
Atma.  Such  that  have  succeeded  are  the  truly  enlightened, 
and  require  no  more  incarnations. 

The  highest  state  of  spiritual  consciousness  is  the  full 
and  complete  realization  of  divine  truth.  Even  while 
physical  consciousness  is  active  the  consciousness  of  the 
higher  principles  may  be  so  exalted  as  to  render  the  body 
little  conscious  of  pain.  History  speaks  of  men  and 
women  whose  souls  rejoiced  while  their  earthly  tabernacles 
were  undergoing  the  tortures  of  the  rack,  or  were  devoured 
by  flames  at  the  stake. 

Man  leads  essentially  two  lives,  one  while  he  is  fully 
awake,  another  while  he  is  fully  asleep.  Each  has  its  own 
perceptions,  consciousness  and  experiences,  but  the  ex- 
periences of  that  state,  called  "deep  sleep,"  are  not 
remembered  when  we  are  fully  "  awake."  At  the  border- 
land between  sleep  and  waking,  where  the  impressions  of 
each  state  meet  and  mingle,  is  the  realm  of  confused 
dreams,  which  are  usually  remembered,  and  seldom  con- 
tain any  truth. 

This  state  is,  however,  favorable  to  receive  impressions 
from  the  higher  self,  or  to  see  the  pictures  existing  in  the 
astral  light.  In  the  former  case  the  higher  self  may  use 
symbolical  forms  and  allegorical  images  to  convey  ideas 
to  the  lower  self,  and  to  give  it  admonitions,  forebodings, 
and  warnings  in  regard  to  future  events ;  in  the  latter  case 
faces  and  forms  of  persons  that  previously  occupied  the 

*  H.  Zschokke  :  "  Verklaerungen  "  (Transfigurations). 


I72  DREAMS. 

room  of  the  sleeper  may  be  seen,  or  his  mind  may  wandei 
to  scenes  to  which  he  is  unconsciously  attracted. 

There  are,  however,  various  kinds  of  dreams,  and  it 
would  be  wrong  to  deny  that  some  of  them  may  not  be 
useful.  The  higher  self  may  make  use  of  the  impressi- 
bility of  the  lower  self  during  the  time  of  half-conscious 
slumber  to  impress  it  with  useful  visions  and  warn  it  of 
danger,  and  to  teach  it  lessons  which  the  lower  self  would 
not  be  able  to  understand  while  his  physical  senses  are  fully 
active  and  the  voice  of  intuition  drowned  in  the  noise  of 
the  struggle  produced  by  the  contending  emotions.  Many 
a  difficult  problem  has  been  solved  during  sleep,  and  the 
terrestrial  world  is  not  always  without  any  reflex  of  the 
light  from  above.  The  mind  of  the  sleeper  during  the 
sleep  of  the  body  may  come  into  contact  with  other  minds, 
and  pass  through  experiences  which  he  does  not  remember 
when  he  awakes.  Man,  in  his  waking  condition,  often 
has  experiences  which  he  afterwards  does  not  remember, 
but  which  he,  nevertheless,  enjoyed  at  the  time  when  they 
occurred,  and  which  at  that  time  were  real  to  him.* 

*  Man  has  not  only  a  double  consciousness,  but  he  leads  two  lives 
which  are  separate  and  yet  one.  Each  of  these  lives  has  its  own 
experiences,  and  if  while  in  one  state  we  do  not  remember  the 
experiences  of  the  other  state,  this  does  not  disprove  the  truth  of  our 
assertion.  A  man  may  live  and  undergo  certain  experiences  in  a  certain 
place,  while  his  body  is  asleep,  or  unconscious,  or  half-conscious  in 
another  place  ;  and  if  the  physical  body  returns  to  its  normal  state,  it 
may  or  may  not  remember  what  happened  to  him  while  he  was  in  the 
other  state.  But  there  are  some  exceptional  cases,  in  which  the  con- 
sciousness of  both  states  may  become  blended,  and  then  the  person  may 
remember  where  he  had  been  and  what  he  had  been  doing  while  in  that 
other  case.  One  of  such  extraordinary  cases  is  mentioned  in  A.  P. 
Sinnetfs  "  Incidents  in  the  Life  of  Madame  Blavatsky."  Speaking  of 
her  sickness  in  Tiflis.  Madame  Blavatsky  says,  that  she  had  the  sensation 
as  if  she  were  two  different  persons,  one  being  the  Madame  Blavatsky 
whose  body  was  lying  sick  in  bed,  the  other  person  an  entirely  different 
and  superior  being.  "When  I  was  in  my  lower  slate,"  she  says,  "  I 
knew  who  that  other  person  was  and  what  she  (or  he)  had  been  doing  ; 
but  when  i  was  that  other  being  myself,  I  did  not  know  nor  care  who 
was  that  Madame  Blavatsky."  It  is  therefore  very  well  possible  that 
Madame  Blavatsky's  tf  transcendental  Ego"  with  all  its  consciousness, 
faculties,  and  powers  of  perception,  in  fact,  her  real  setf,  was  consciously 
and  really  undergoing  certain  mysterious  experiences  in  Tibet,  while 
the  physical  instrument,  which  we  call  "  Madame  Blavatsky,"  was  sick 
at  Tiflis  ;  but  such  an  explanation  will  be  incomprehensible  to  those 
persons  who  imagine  the  physical  body  of  a  person  to  be  the  whole  of 


DOUBLE  CONSCIOUSNESS.  173 

A  mixture  of  the  various  states  of  sensations  and  per- 
ceptions produces  the  normal  consciousness  of  man.  Man 
feels  in  himself  at  least  two  sets  of  attractions  that  come 
to  his  consciousness,  the  "  earthly  "  and  the  "  fiery  "  ele- 
ments. One  set  drags  him  down  to  earth  and  makes  him 
cling  with  a  firm  grasp  to  material  necessities  and  enjoy- 
ments, the  other  set,  lifting  him  up  into  the  region  of  the 
unknown,  makes  him  forget  the  allurements  of  matter,  and 
by  bringing  him  nearer  to  the  reahn  of  abstract  ideas  of 
the  good,  the  true,  and  the  beautiful,  gives  him  satisfaction 
and  happiness.  The  greatest  poets  and  philosophers  have 
recognized  this  fact  of  double  consciousness,  or  the  two 
poles  of  one,  and  between  those  two  poles  ebbs  and  floods 
the  normal  consciousness  of  the  average  human  being. 

Goethe  expresses  this  in  his  "  Faust"  in  about  the  fol- 
lowing terms  : — 

"  Two  souls,  alas  !  are  conscious  in  my  breast, 
Each  from  the  other  tries  to  separate. 
One  clings  to  earth,  attracted  by  desire, 
The  other  rises  upward,"  etc. 

One  attraction  arises  from  Spirit,  another  from  matter. 
By  the  power  of  Reason  Man  is  enabled  to  choose  which 
way  he  will  follow,  and  by  the  power  of  his  Will  he  is 
enabled  to  follow  his  choice.  He  may  concentrate  his 
consciousness  entirely  on  the  lower  plane,  and  sinking  into 
sensuality,  become  entirely  unconscious  of  the  existence  of 
higher  aspirations,  or  he  may  live  entirely  in  the  higher 
planes  of  thought  and  feeling,  grow  to  realize  fully  the 
beauties,  realities,  and  truths  of  the  spirit,  and  become  dead 
to  the  attractions  of  matter.  A  self-centered  and  narrow- 

his  person,  and  his  physical  form  to  be  his  own  real  self.  Only  when 
the  relations  existing  between  the  higher  and  lower  self  will  be  fully 
understood  by  our  would-be  philosophers  will  their  eyes  become 
opened  to  a  realization  of  the  truth  that  man's  phenomenal  terrestrial 
self  is  nothing  else  but  a  temporary  illusion,  a  bundle  of  ever-changing 
powers  and  principles  held  together  by  the  power  of  the  divine  Spirit, 
and  endowed  by  the  latter  with  the  faculty  to  perceive,  to  think,  to  will 
and  to  remember  ;  a  fleeting  cloud  of  living  matter,  illuminated  for  the 
time  being  by  the  light  of  the  spirit,  a  mere  instrument  through  which 
impersonal  forces  act ;  while  the  real  self  of  man  exists  in  another  region 
of  thought,  and  is  known  only  to  those  who  are  passing  through  the 
process  of  spiritual  regeneration. 


174  REASON. 

minded  man  may  have  his  consciousness  narrowed  down 
to  a  small  sphere  ;  a  great  and  liberal  mind  may  expand  it 
without  any  limits,  until  the  whole  of  space  will  appear  to 
him  to  be  rilled  with  his  own  consciousness,  and  his  power 
of  perception  will  enable  him  to  penetrate  all  the  mysteries 
in  Nature.  Few  may  be  able  to  reach  such  a  state,  and 
few  will  be  able  to  comprehend  its  possibility  ;  but  there 
have  been  men  who,  on  the  threshold  of  Nirwana,  were 
able  to  concentrate  the  powers  of  their  minds  in  centres 
beyond  the  attraction  of  earth,  and  while  their  physical 
bodies  continued  to  live  on  this  planet,  the  divine  self, 
leaving  its  human  form,  could  consciously  roam  through 
the  interplanetary  spaces  and  see  the  wonders  of  the 
material  and  spiritual  worlds.  This  is  the  highest  form  of 
Adeptship  attainable  on  earth,  and  to  him  who  accomplishes 
it  the  mysteries  of  the  Universe  will  be  like  an  open 
book. 

Every  man  and  woman,  however,  can  feel  within  their 
souls  the  presence  of  the  divine  Spirit,  even  if  they  cannot 
yet  see  its  light.  This  is  the  beginning  of  that  true  spirit- 
ual consciousness,  to  which  we  should  cling  at  all  times  and 
which  finds  its  expression  in  the  adoration  of  the  highest 
good.  Still  such  states  are  yet  far  from  spiritual  self- 
consciousness,  which  is  a  full  realization  of  individual 
existence  within  the  spiritual  realm,  and  as  such  is  known 
only  to  few.  Even  the  most  devout  worshipper,  as  long 
as  the  divine  Spirit  has  not  awakened  within  his  soul,  will 
merely  feel  the  beauties  of  the  spiritual  realm  in  the  same 
sense  as  a  blind  man  may  enjoy  the  warm  rays  of  the 
sunshine  without  being  able  to  see  the  light ;  only  when 
the  process  of  spiritual  regeneration  has  fairly  begun  will 
he  be  able  to  see  the  sun  of  glory  within  his  own  soul,  and 
the  illusive  self-consciousness  of  his  former  state  which 
caused  him  to  believe  that  he  was  a  permanent  being,  will 
be  transformed  into  that  real  self-conscious  state  in  which 
he  becomes  self-luminous  in  the  light  of  the  Truth,  a  state 
in  which  man  actually  knows  that  he  exists  as  an  eternal, 
self-existent  and  immortal  power  in  God. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

DEATH. 
tl  Omne  bonum  a  Deo,  imperfectum  a  Diabalo/' — Paracelsus. 

CONSCIOUSNESS  is  knowledge  and  life  ;  unconsciousness  is 
ignorance  and  death.  If  we  are  conscious  of  the  existence 
of  a  thing,  a  relation  exists  between  ourselves  and  that 
thing.  If  we  are  unconscious  of  its  existence,  neither  we 
nor  that  object  ceases  to  exist,  but  there  is  no  relation 
between  us.  As  soon  as  we  begin  to  realize  that  relation, 
the  character  of  the  object  perceived  in  the  sphere  of  our 
mind  becomes  a  part  of  our  mental  constitution,  and  we 
begin  to  live  in  relation  to  it.  We  then  possess  it  in  our 
consciousness.  If  we  lose  its  possession,  we  may  regain  it 
by  the  power  of  recollection  and  memory.  To  know  an 
object  is  to  live  relatively  to  it,  to  forget  it  is  to  die  in 
relation  to  it. 

Unconsciousness,  ignorance  and  death  are,  therefore, 
synonymous  terms,  and  every  one  is  dead  in  proportion  as 
he  is  ignorant.  If  he  is  ignorant  of  a  fact,  he  is  dead 
relatively  to  it,  although  he  may  be  fully  alive  in  many 
other  respects.  We  cannot  be  conscious  of  everything  at 
once,  and,  therefore,  as  our  impressions  and  thoughts 
change,  our  consciousness  and  relation  to  certain  things 
change,  and  we  continually  die  relatively  to  some  things 
and  begin  to  live  relatively  to  others.  Relative  death  and 
unconsciousness  occurs  every  moment,  and  we  are  not 
aware  of  its  occurrence.  We  meet  hundreds  of  corpses  in 
the  streets,  which  are  entirely  dead  and  unconscious  in 
regard  to  certain  things  of  which  we  are  conscious,  and 
relatively  to  which  we  are  alive  ;  and  we  may  be  dead  in 


176  PROLONGING  LIFE. 

regard  to  many  things  to  which  others  are  alive  and  con- 
scious. Only  simultaneously  occurring  omniscience  in 
regard  to  everything  that  exists  would  be  absolute  life 
without  any  admixture  of  death. 

Each  principle  in  man  has  a  certain  sphere  of  conscious- 
ness, and  its  perceptions  can  only  extend  to  the  limits  of 
that  sphere.  Each  is  dead  to  such  modes  of  activity  as 
are  in  no  relation  with  it.  Minerals  are  unconscious  of 
the  action  of  intelligence,  but  not  of  the  attraction  of  Earth ; 
spirit  is  dead  to  earthly  attraction,  but  not  to  spiritual 
principles.  If  we  can  change  the  mode  of  activity  in  a 
form,  we  call  into  existence  a  new  state  of  consciousness, 
because  we  establish  new  relations  of  a  different  order ; 
the  old  activity  then  dies  and  a  new  one  begins  to  live. 

If  the  energy  which  we  are  now  using  for  the  purpose 
of  digesting  food,  for  performing  intellectual  labor  and 
for  enjoying  sensual  pleasures,  were  used  for  the  purpose 
of  developing  spirituality,  we  would  be  in  a  comparatively 
short  time  rewarded  for  our  labor  by  becoming  superior 
beings,  of  a  state  so  far  above  our  present  condition,  that 
we  can  at  present  not  even  conceive  of  it. 

In  the  constitution  of  average  man  life  is  especially  active 
in  the  animal  body,  and  he  clings  to  the  life  of  that  body 
as  if  it  were  the  only  possible  mode  of  existence.  He 
knows  of  no  other  mode  of  life,  and  is  afraid  to  die.  A 
person  whose  centre  of  life  and  consciousness  is  in  his 
astral  body  will  be  conscious  of  another  existence,  and  his 
physical  body  will  be  only  so  far  of  value  to  him,  as  by  its 
instrumentality  he  may  act  on  the  physical  plane. 
Physical  death  is  a  continuation  of  the  activity  of  life  in 
higher  principles.  If  we,  by  some  occult  process,  could 
concentrate  all  our  life  into  our  higher  principles  before 
!our  body  ceases  to  live,  we  might  step  in  advance  of  death 
and  live  independent  of  our  physical  body. 

Such  a  transfer  of  life  and  consciousness  is  not  beyond 
possibility.  It  has  been  accomplished  by  some,  and  will 
be  accomplished  by  others.  The  material  elements  of  the 
physical  body  are  continually  subject  to  elimination  and 
renewal.  By  restricting  the  renewal  of  these  elements 
within  the  limits  of  the  utmost  necessity,  and  at  the  same 
time  withdrawing  our  consciousness  from  the  exterior  and 
concentrating  it  upon  the  interior  plane,  we  may,  in  course 
of  time,  change  the  compound  parts  of  the  physical  body 


SEPARATION  OF  PRINCIPLES.  177 

into  more  ethereal  ones,  until  its  physical  molecules  become 
entirely  replaced  by  finer  elements  belonging  to  the  astral 
plane,  when  its  organization  will  require  no  more  food 
from  the  physical  plane,  and  become  invisible  to  the 
physical  eye.*  It  would,  however,  be  absurd  to  suppose  ' 
that  immortality  could  be  obtained  by  means  of  gymnastic 
exercises  and  semi-starvation  and  without  an  awakening  of 
the  inner  life.  If  the  divine  life  awakens  in  man,  the 
grossly  animal  elements  in  his  constitution  will  die  and 
disappear  without  any  external  aid. 

No  one  would  be  willing  to  look  upon  such  a  change 
as  death,  and  yet  it  would  be  nothing  else  but  a  mode  of 
dying  slow  as  far  as  the  physical  body  is  concerned,  while 
at  the  same  time  it  is  a  resurrection  of  the  real  man  into  a 
superior  form  of  existence.  Death — whether  slow  or 
quick — is  nothing  but  a  process  of  purification,  by  which 
the  imperfect  is  eliminated  and  rendered  unconscious. 
Nothing  perishes  but  that  which  is  not  able  to  live. 
Principles  cannot  die,  only  their  forms  disappear. 

Only  that  which  is  perfect  can  remain  without  being 
changed.  Truth,  wisdom,  justice,  beauty,  goodness,  etc., 
cannot  be  changed  ;  it  is  merely  the  forms  in  which  they 
become  manifest  that  can  be  destroyed.  If  all  the  wise 
men  in  the  world  were  to  die  in  one  moment,  the  principle 
of  Wisdom  would  nevertheless  exist,  and  manifest  itself 
in  due  time  in  other  receptive  forms  ;  if  Love  were  to  leave 
the  hearts  of  all  human  beings,  it  would  thereby  not  be 
annihilated,  it  would  merely  cease  to  exist  relatively 
to  men,  and  men  would  cease  to  live  while  love  would 
continue  to  be.  Eternal  principles  are  self-existent,  and 
therefore  independent  of  forms,  and  not  subject  to  change ; 
but  forms  are  changeable,  and  cannot  continue  without 
the  presence  of  the  principles  whose  instruments  for 
manifestation  they  represent. 

The  human  body  is  an  instrument  for  the  manifestation 
of  life,  the  soul  is  an  instrument  for  the  manifestation  of 
spirit.  If  the  life  leaves  the  body,  the  latter  begins  to 
disintegrate ;  if  the  spirit  leaves  the  soul,  the  latter  begins 
to  dissolve.  A  person  in  whom  the  spiritual  principle  has 
become  entirely  inactive  is  spiritually  dead,  although  his 
body  may  be  full  of  life  and  his  soul  full  of  animal  desires. 

•  The  Theosophist:  "Elixir  of  Life." 


178  GOD  IS  IMMORTAL. 

Such  spiritless  living  corpses  are  often  seen  in  fashionable 
society  as  well  as  in  the  crowds  where  the  vulgar  assemble. 
A  person  in  whom  the  principle  of  reason  has  become 
inactive  is  intellectually  dead,  although  his  body  may  be 
full  of  animal  life  ;  lunatics  are  dead  people,  in  whom  only 
the  non-intellectual  or  semi-intellectual  principles  con- 
tinue to  live.  If  the  soul  leaves  the  body,  the  latter  dies 
but  the  soul  lives.  If  the  soul  dies,  God  continues  to 
be. 

The  soul,  like  the  body,  is  a  compound  organism,  com- 
posed of  various  elements.  Some  of  these  elements  may 
be  fit  to  receive  the  Light  of  the  spirit,  others  are  not  fit 
to  do  so.  If,  therefore,  a  person,  during  his  earthly  life 
has  not  purified  his  soul  sufficiently  so  as  to  enter  the 
spiritual  state  immediately  after  the  death  of  the  physical 
body,  a  separation  of  the  pure  and  impure  elements  from 
the  still  impure  remains  must  take  place  in  the  state  after 
death.  When  the  final  separation  is  accomplished,  the 
spiritual  elements  enter  the  spiritual  state  (which,  in  fact, 
they  have  never  left) ;  and  the  lower  elements,  which  may 
or  may  not  possess  a  certain  remnant  of  consciousness  of 
their  own,  remain  in  the  lower  plane,  where  they  gradually 
disintegrate. 

If  the  organization  of  the  physical  body  becomes  im- 
paired to  such  an  extent  that  the  principle  of  life  cannot 
employ  it  any  longer  to  serve  as  an  instrument  for  its 
activity,  it  ceases  to  act.  Death  may  begin  at  the  head, 
the  heart,  or  the  lungs,  but  life  lingers  longest  in  the  head, 
and  it  may  still  be  active  there  to  a  certain  extent  after 
the  body,  to  all  exterior  appearances,  has  become  uncon- 
scious and  ceased  to  live.  The  power  of  thought  may 
continue  for  a  time  to  work  in  its  habitual  manner,  although 
sensation  has  ceased  to  exist  in  the  nerves.  This  activity 
may  even  grow  in  intensity  as  the  principles  become 
disunited  ;  and  if  the  thought  of  the  dying  is  instensely 
directed  upon  an  absent  friend,  it  may  impress  itself  upon 
the  consciousness  of  that  friend,  and  perhaps  cause  him  to 
see  the  apparition  of  the  dying.  At  last  vitality  leaves  the 
brain,  and  the  higher  principles  depart,  carrying  with  them 
their  proper  activity,  life  and  consciousness,  leaving 
behind  an  empty  form,  a  mask,  an  illusion.  There  need 
not  necessarily  be  any  loss  of  consciousness  in  regard  to 
the  persons  and  things  by  which  we  may  be  surrounded  j 


PROCESS  OF  DYING.  179 

the  only  consciousness  which  necessarily  ceases  is  that 
which  refers  to  his  personality,  of  physical  sensation,  pain, 
weight,  heat  and  cold,  hunger  and  thirst,  which  may  have 
affected  the  physical  form.  As  his  life  departs  from  the 
brain,  another  state  of  consciousness  may  come  into 
existence,  because  he  enters  in  relation  to  a  different  order 
of  things.  "  The  principle,  carrying  memory,  emerges 
from  the  brain,  and  every  event  of  the  life  which  is  ebbing 
away  is  reviewed  by  the  mind.  Picture  after  picture 
presents  itself  with  living  vividness  before  his  consciousness 
and  he  lives  in  a  few  minutes  his  whole  life  again. 
Persons  in  a  state  of  drowning  have  experienced  that  state 
and  regained  their  life.  That  impression  which  has  been 
the  strongest,  survives  all  the  rest ;  the  other  impressions 
disappear  to  reappear  again  in  the  devachanic  state.  No 
man  dies  unconscious,  whatever  external  appearances  may 
seem  to  indicate  to  the  contrary  ;  even  a  madman  will 
have  a  moment,  at  the  time  of  his  death,  when  his  intellect 
will  be  restored.  Those  who  are  present  at  such  solemn 
moments  should  take  care  not  to  disturb,  by  outbursts  of 
grief  or  otherwise,  that  process  by  which  the  soul  beholds 
the  effects  of  the  past  and  lays  the  plan  for  its  future 
existence."* 

The  process  of  the  parting  of  the  perisprit  from  the 
physical  remains  is  described  by  a  clairvoyant  as  follows  : 
— "  At  first  I.  saw  a  beautiful  light  of  a  pale  blue  color,  in 
which  appeared  a  small  egg-shaped  substance  about  three 
feet  above  the  head.  It  was  not  stationary,  but  wavered 
to  and  fro  like  a  balloon  in  the  air.  Gradually  it  elongated 
to  the  length  of  the  body,  the  whole  enveloped  in  a  mist  or 
smoke.  I  perceived  a  face  corresponding  in  features  to 
that  which  was  so  soon  to  be  soulless,  only  brighter,  more 
smooth,  more  beautiful,  yet  unfinished,  with  the  same  want 
of  expression  that  we  observe  in  a  new-born  infant.  With 
every  breath  from  the  dying  body  the  ethereal  form  was 
added  to  and  became  more  perfect.  Presently  the  feet 
became  defined,  not  side  by  side,  as  the  dying  man  had 
placed  himself,  but  one  hanging  below  the  other,  and  one 
knee  bent,  as  new-born  infants  would  be  in  an  accidental 
position.  The  body  appeared  to  be  enshrouded  in  a 
cloudlike  mist.  A  countless  host  of  other  presences 

*  Extracted  from  the  letter  of  an  Adept. 


l8o  THE  PERISPRIT. 

seemed  to  be  near.     When  the  whole  was  complete,  all 
slowly  passed  out  of  sight."  * 

This  ethereal  body  is  the  soul-body  or  perisprit  of  the 
person  that  died.  It  is  not  the  spirit  itself,  but  it  may 
still  be  made  luminous  by  the  spirit,  as  it  was  during  life. 
It  may  still  contain  the  good  and  evil  tendencies  which  it 
acquired  during  life.  If  man's  spirit  rises  above  the 
attractions  of  his  lower  self,  his  lower  self  would  be  uncon- 
scious and  desintegrate  ;  but  if  he  clings  to  his  animal  nature 
with  a  great  intensity  of  desire,  a  centre  of  consciousness 
will  become  established  therein,  and  its  sense  of  personality 
may  continue  to  exist  for  a  while  in  his  animal  soul  even 
after  the  physical  body  is  dead. 

The  time  during  which  an  astral  corpse  may  remain  in 
this  state  before  it  is  entirely  dissolved  depends  on  the 
density  and  strength  of  its  elements.  It  may  differ  from  a 
few  hours  or  days  to  a  great  many  years.  Man  is  made 
up  of  a  great  many  living  elements  or  principles,  of  which 
each  one  exists  in  its  own  individual  state  while  they  all 
receive  their  life  from  the  spirit.  When  the  spirit  with- 
draws they  become  separate,  while  each  one  may  retain 
for  a  while  its  own  particular  life  and  consciousness  in  the 
same  sense  as  a  wheel  which  is  once  set  into  motion  will 
continue  to  run  until  after  the  force  is  exhausted,  even  if 
the  original  motive  power  is  withdrawn. 

The  astral  remnant  of  a  man  is,  therefore,  not  the  man, 
but  a  part  of  his  psychic  organism,  which  may  or  may  not 
be  conscious  that  it  exists,  and  which  may  or  may  not  be 
connected  with  the  spiritual  monad  whose  instrument  it 
was  during  life. 

This  Kama  loca  state  is  the  "  land  of  the  shadows,"  the 
Hades  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  and  the  "  purgatory  "  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church.  Its  inhabitants  may  or  may  not 
•possess  consciousness  and  intelligence,  but  the  astral  souls 
of  average  honest  men  and  women  possess  no  intelligence 
of  their  own ;  they  can,  however,  be  made  to  act  intelli- 
gently by  the  power  of  the  Elementals.  Paracelsus 
says  : — "  Men  and  women  die  every  day,  whose  souls 
during  their  lives  have  been  subject  to  the  influence  and 
guidance  of  Elementals.  How  much  easier  will  it  be  for 
such  Elementals  to  influence  the  sidereal  bodies  of  such 

*  A.  J.  Davis  describes  a  similar  scene. 


PURGATORY.  181 

persons  and  to  make  them  act  as  they  please,  after  their 
souls  have  lost  the  protection  which  their  physical  bodies 
afforded  !  They  may  use  these  soul-bodies  to  move  phy- 
sical objects  from  place  to  place,  to  carry  such  objects 
from  distant  countries,  and  to  perform  other  feats  of  a 
similar  kind  that  may  appear  miraculous  to  the  unin- 
itiated." 

The  state  of  consciousness  of  the  animal  soul  after  the 
physical  form  has  become  unconscious  and  lifeless  may, 
therefore,  differ  widely  in  different  persons,  according  to 
the  conditions  that  have  been  established  during  its  con- 
nection with  the  body.  The  soul  of  an  average  person  in 
Kama  loca  with  only  moderate  selfish  desires  is  not  con- 
scious and  intelligent  enough  to  know  that  its  physical 
body  has  died,  and  that  it  is  itself  undergoing  the  process 
of  disintegration  ;  but  the  soul  of  a  person  whose  whole 
consciousness  was  intensely  centred  in  self  may  be  con- 
scious and  intelligent  enough  to  remember  its  past  life  and 
to  feel  its  impending  fate.  Seeking  to  prolong  its  existence 
it  may  cling  for  protection  to  the  organism  of  some  living 
being,  and  thereby  cause  an  obsession.  Not  only  weak- 
minded  human  beings  but  also  animals  may  be  subject  to 
such  an  obsession. 

To  a  body  without  sensation  or  consciousness  it  can 
make  no  difference  under  what  conditions  it  may  continue 
to  exist  or  perish,  because  it  cannot  realize  its  existence  ; 
but  to  a  soul  in  which  the  spark  of  divine  intelligence 
has  kindled  consciousness  and  sensation,  its  surrounding 
conditions  will  be  of  importance,  because  it  can  realize 
them  more  or  less  fully  according  to  the  degree  of  its  con- 
sciousness. Such  surroundings,  in  the  state  after  death, 
each  man  creates  for  himself  during  life  by  his  thoughts, 
his  words,  and  his  acts.  Man  is  creating  all  his  life  the 
condition  wherein  he  will  live  in  the  hereafter. 

Thought  is  material  and  solid  to  those  that  live  on  the 
plane  of  thought.  Even  on  the  physical  plane  every  form 
that  exists  is  materialized  thought,  grown  or  made  into  a 
form;  the  world  of  the  souls  is  a  world  in  which  thought  itself 
appears  material  and  solid  to  those  who  exist  in  that  world. 
Man  is  a  centre  from  which  continually  thought  is  evolved, 
and  crystallizes  into  forms  in  that  world.  His  thoughts 
are  things  that  have  life  and  form  and  tenacity ;  real 
entities,  solid  and  more  enduring  than  the  forms  of  the 


182  HELLS. 

physical  plane.  Good  thoughts  are  light  and  rise  above 
us,  but  evil  thoughts  are  heavy  and  sink.  The  world 
below  us  to  which  they  sink  is  the  sphere  of  the  grossest, 
most  diseased,  and  sensual  thoughts  evolved  by  evil-dis- 
posed and  ignorant  men.  It  is  a  world  still  more  material 
and  solid  to  its  inhabitants  than  ours  is  to  us ;  it  is  the 
habitation  of  man-created  personal  deities,  devils,  and 
monstrosities  invented  by  the  morbid  imagination  of 
man. 

They  are  only  the  products  of  thought,  but,  nevertheless, 
they  are  real  and  substantial  to  those  who  live  among  them 
and  realize  their  existence.  The  myths  of  hell  and  purga- 
tory are  based  on  ill-understood  facts.  "  Hells  "  exist,  but 
man  is  himself  their  creator.  Brutal  man  creates  monsters 
by  the  working  of  his  diseased  imagination  during  life  ; 
disembodied  man  will  be  attracted  to  his  creations.  There 
are  few  persons  who  are  not  subject  to  evil  thoughts  ;  such 
thoughts  are  the  reflex  of  the  lurid  light  from  the  region  of 
evil,  but  they  cannot  take  form  unless  we  give  them  form 
by  dwelling  on  them  and  feeding  them  with  the  substance 
taken  from  our  own  mind.  Love  is  the  life  of  the  gocd, 
malice  the  life  of  the  evil.  An  evil  thought,  evolved 
unconsciously,  is  an  illusion  without  life  ;  an  evil  thought, 
brought  into  existence  with  malice,  becomes  malicious  and 
living.  If  it  is  embodied  in  an  act,  a  new  devil  will  be 
born  into  the  world.  The  horrors  of  hell  exist  only  for 
those  who  have  been  conscious,  voluntary,  and  malicious 
colaborers  in  peopling  it  with  the  products  of  their  fancy  ; 
the  beauties  of  heaven  are  only  realized  by  him  who  has 
created  a  heaven  within  himself  during  his  life. 

Pain  is  only  caused  if  a  being  exists  under  abnormal 
conditions.  Devils  do  not  suffer  in  hell,  because  they  are 
there  in  their  own  natural  element  ;  they  would  suffer  if 
they  had  to  enter  in  heaven.  They  belong  to  the  darkness 
and  suffer  in  the  presence  of  light.  A  man  suffers  if  his 
head  is  kept  under  water  ;  a  fish  suffers  if  he  is  taken  out 
of  the  water.  A  cruel  and  vicious  person  may  enjoy  sights 
which  will  horrify  others;  but  if  he  still  has  some  good 
elements  within  his  organization,  they  will  suffer  until  they 
have  become  separated  from  evil.  If  there  are  spiritual 
powers  for  good,  there  must  be  spiritual  powers  for  evil; 
for  Evil  is  merely  perverted  Good.  If  man  is  a  temple  of 
God,  he  may  likewise  be  a  residence  for  the  Devil.  If 


DEVILS.  183 

man  has  a  spirit,  that  spirit  can  enter  into  relations  with 
either  of  the  two  states  ;  but  for  a  spiritless  man,  an  animal, 
neither  God  nor  the  Devil  has  any  use  ;  nor  can  the  highest 
Dhyan  Chahan  of  evil  exert  any  power  over  a  man  unless 
that  man  has  already  a  devil  in  him. 

We  can  only  be  conscious  of  the  existence  of  things,  if 
a  relation  exists  between  ourselves  and  the  things.  A 
person  who  has  created  nothing  during  life  that  could 
have  established  a  relationship  with  his  immortal  self  will 
have  nothing  immortal  with  which  to  enter  into  relationship 
with  after  death.  If  his  whole  attention  is  taken  up  by  his 
physical  wants,  the  sphere  of  his  consciousness  during  life 
will  be  confined  to  those  material  wants.  When  he  leaves 
his  material  habitation  material  wants  will  no  longer  exist 
for  him,  and  his  consciousness  of  them  ceases.  Having 
created  nothing  in  his  soul  that  can  enter  into  relation  with 
spirit,  his  soul  will  neither  lose  that  which  it  never  possessed 
nor  gain  that  which  it  never  desired,  but  remain  a  blank. 
If  we  hire  a  priest  or  a  professor  to  do  our  thinking  for  us, 
we  create  no  spiritual  aspirations  or  living  thoughts  for 
ourselves.  If  we  are  contented  to  believe  the  opinions  of 
others,  we  have  no  knowledge  of  our  own.  The  artificial 
knowledge  which  has  thus  been  created  by  the  reflection 
of  the  thought  of  others  on  the  mirror  of  the  individual 
mind  has  no  power  of  penetration.  Those  minds  which 
have  been  fed  on  illusions  will  have  no  substance  after  the 
illusions  have  passed  away.  The  only  knowledge  which 
can  remain  with  the  spirit  is  that  which  it  knows  itself. 

Every  cause  is  followed  by  an  effect.  Illusions  that 
have  been  created  in  the  mind  are  forces  that  must  become 
exhausted  before  they  can  die.  They  will  continue  to  act 
in  the  subjective  state  and  produce  other  illusions  by  the 
law  of  harmony  that  governs  the  association  of  ideas,  and 
all  illusions  will  end  in  the  sphere  to  which  they  belong. 
Selfish  desires  will  end  in  the  sphere  of  self,  unselfish 
aspirations  and  thoughts  will  bring  their  own  rewards  if 
they  were  good,  and  their  own  punishment  if  they  were 
evil.  Life  is  a  continual  death  or  exchange  of  conditions 
under  which  we  exist.  Our  desires  for  things  change  as 
the  conditions  under  which  we  exist  assume  a  different 
character.  Before  we  are  born  our  state  of  life  depends 
on  the  state  of  the  mother's  womb ;  but  having  been  born 
into  the  world,  we  care  nothing  more  for  the  placenta  and 


184  EXHAUSTION  OF  ENERGIES. 

membranes  that  furnished  us  with  nutriment  and  life  during 
our  foetal  existence.  Being  infants,  our  interests  are 
centred  upon  the  breasts  of  the  mother,  but  these  breasts 
are  forgotten  after  we  need  them  no  more.  Things  which 
absorbed  the  whole  of  our  consciousness  during  our  youth 
are  discarded  as  we  grow  older.  If  we  throw  off  the  phy- 
sical body,  the  desire  for  that  which  was  attractive  to  it 
and  important  for  its  existence  is  thrown  off  with  it,  or 
perishes  soon  afterwards. 

But  if  the  soul  again  approaches  the  material  plane,  and 
through  the  influences  of  mediumship  again  enters  into 
relationship  with  it,  the  old  consciousness  and  the  old 
desires,  that  had  gone  to  sleep,  reawaken,  and  its  physical 
sensations  return.  If  the  influence  of  the  medium  is  with- 
drawn, it  relapses  in  its  state  of  stupor  or  unconsciousness. 

There  are  innumerable  varieties  of  conditions  and  pos- 
sibilities in  the  world  of  spirit  and  on  the  astral  plane,  as 
there  are  upon  the  physical  plane.  If  the  mind  begins  to 
investigate  these  things  separately,  and  without  under- 
standing the  fundamental  laws  of  nature  upon  which 
such  phenomena  are  based,  it  may  as  well  despair  of  ever 
being  able  to  form  a  correct  conception  of  them.  If  a 
botanist  were  to  examine  separately  each  one  of  the  thou- 
sands of  leaves  of  a  large  tree,  for  the  purpose  of  finding 
out  the  true  nature  of  the  latter,  he  would  never  arrive  at 
an  end  ;  but  if  he  once  knows  the  tree  as  a  whole,  the  color 
and  shape  of  the  individual  leaves  will  be  easily  known. 
Likewise,  if  we  once  arrive  at  a  correct  conception  of  the 
spiritual  nature  of  man,  it  will  be  easy  to  follow  the  various 
ramifications  of  the  one  universal  law. 

There  is  no  death  for  that  which  is  perfect,  but  the  im- 
perfect must  perish  sooner  or  later.  So-called  death  is 
simply  a  process  of  elimination  of  that  which  is  useless.  In 
this  sense  we  all  are  continually  dying  every  day,  and  even 
wishing  to  die,  because  every  reasonable  person  desires 
to  get  rid  of  his  imperfections  and  their  consequences  and 
the  sufferings  which  they  cause.  No  one  is  afraid  to  lose 
that  which  he  does  not  want,  and  if  he  clings  to  that  which 
is  useless,  it  is  because  he  is  unconscious  and  ignorant  of 
that  which  is  useful.  In  such  a  case  he  is  already  partly 
dead  to  that  which  is  good,  and  must  come  to  life  and  learn 
to  realize  that  which  is  useful,  by  dying  to  that  which  is 
usefulness.  This  is  the  so-called  mystic  death,  by  which 


7 HE  MYSTIC  DEATH.  185 

the  enlightened  come  to  life,  which  involves  the  uncon- 
sciousness of  worthless  and  earthly  desires  and  passions, 
and  establishes  a  consciousness  of  that  which  is  immortal 
and  true.  The  reason  why  men  and  women  are  sometimes 
afraid  to  die  is  because  they  mistake  the  low  for  the  high, 
and  prefer  material  illusions  to  spiritual  truths.  There  is 
no  death  for  the  perfect,  and  he  who  is  imperfect  must 
throw  away  his  imperfectness,  so  that  that  which  is  per- 
fect in  him  may  become  conscious  and  live.  This  mystic 
death  is  recommended  by  the  wise  as  being  the  supreme 
remedy  against  real  death.  This  mystic  death  is  identical 
with  a  spiritual  regeneration.* 

Hermes  Trismegistus  says  :  "  Happy  is  he  whose  vices 
die  before  him  ; "  and  the  great  teacher  Thomas  de  Kernpis 
writes  :  "  Learn  to  die  now  to  the  world  "  (to  the  attractions 
of  matter),  "  so  that  you  may  begin  to  live  with  Christ" 

A  person  whose  vices  have  died  during  his  earthly  life 
does  not  need  to  die  again  during  his  life  as  a  soul.  His 
sidereal  body  will  dissolve  like  a  silver  cloud,  being 
unconscious  of  any  desires  for  that  which  is  low,  and  his 
spirit  will  be  fully  conscious  of  that  which  is  beautiful, 
harmonious,  and  true  ;  but  he,  whose  conscience  is  centred 
in  the  passions  that  have  raged  in  his  soul  during  life, 
can  realize  nothing  higher  than  that  which  was  the  highest 
to  him  during  his  life,  and  cannot  gain  any  other  conscious- 
ness by  the  process  of  death.  Physical  death  is  no  gain, 
it  cannot  give  us  that  which  we  do  not  already  possess. 
Unconsciousness  cannot  confer  consciousness,  ignorance 
cannot  give  knowledge.  By  the  mystic  death  we  arrive  at 
life  and  consciousness,  knowledge  and  happiness,  because 
the  awaking  of  the  higher  elements  to  life  implies  the  death 
of  that  which  is  useless  and  low.  '•'  Neither  circumcision 
nor  uncircumcision  availeth,  but  a  new  creature."  f 

There  are  E sprits  souj "rants,  our  suffering  souls.  They 
are  the  "  revenants  "  or  "  restants,"  the  astral  bodies  of 
victims  of  premature  death,  whose  physical  forms  have 
perished  before  their  spirits  became  ripe  enough  to  separate 
from  the  soul.  They  remain  within  the  attraction  of  the 
Earth  until  the  time  arrives  that  should  have  been  the 

*John  iii.  3. 
fGala.  vi.  15. 


1 86  SUICIDES. 

termination  of  their  physical  lives  according  to  the  law  of 
their  Karma.  They  are  under  normal  conditions,  not 
fully  conscious  of  the  conditions  in  which  they  exist ;  but 
they  may  be  temporarily  stimulated  in  to  life  by  the  influence 
of  mediumship.  Then  will  their  half-forgotten  desires  and 
memories  return  and  cause  them  to  suffer.  To  rouse  such 
existences  from  their  stupor  into  a  realization  of  pain  for 
the  purpose  of  gratifying  idle  curiosity  is  cruel,  and  may 
be  very  injurious  to  such  souls,  as  it  may  reawaken  their 
thirst  for  life  and  for  the  gratification  of  earthly  desires. 

The  soul  of  the  sane  suicide,  however,  or  that  of  a  mali- 
cious person, may  be  fully  conscious  and  realize  the  situation 
in  which  it  is  placed.  Such  existenees  may  wander  about 
earth,  clinging  to  material  life,  and  vainly  trying  to  escape 
the  dissolution  by  which  they  are  threatened.  Partly 
bereft  of  reason,  and  following  their  animal  instincts,  they 
may  become  Incubi  and  Succubi,  Vampires  stealing  life 
from  the  living  to  prolong  their  own  existence,  regardless 
of  the  fate  of  their  victims.  The  soul-bodies  of  the  dead 
may  be  either  unconsciously  or  consciously  attracted  to 
mediums  for  the  purpose  of  communicating  with  the  living. 
By  using  the  astral  emanations  of  the  medium  they  may 
become  materialized,  and  be  rendered  visible  and  tangible, 
and  appear  like  the  deceased  person  himself.  But  if  a 
deceased  person  was  in  possession  of  high  aspirations  and 
virtues,  his  soul-corpse  will  not  actually  be  the  actual  entity 
which  it  represents,  although  it  may  act  in  every  respect 
as  the  person  whose  mask  it  wears.  If  we  blow  into  a 
trumpet  it  will  give  the  sound  of  a  trumpet  and  no  other. 
The  soul-corpse  of  a  good  person,  if  infused  artificially 
with  life,  will  produce  the  thoughts  it  used  to  produce 
during  life ;  but  there  will  be  no  more  of  the  identity  of 
that  person  in  the  corpse  than  there  is  the  identity  of  a 
friend  in  the  wire  of  a  telephone,  if  we  recognize  his  voice 
and  manner  of  expression  through  such  a  wire. 

The  revelations  made  by  such  "  spirits  "  are  only  the 
echoes  of  their  former  thoughts,  or  of  thoughts  impressed 
upon  them  by  the  living,  as  a  mirror  reflects  the  faces  of 
those  that  stand  before  it.  They  do  not  give  us  a  true 
description  of  the  spirit's  condition  in  the  world  of  souls, 
because  he  is  himself  ignorant  of  that  condition.  At  the 
time  when  Plato  was  living,  such  souls  returned,  giving 
descriptions  of  Hades  and  of  the  deities  that  were  believed 


SPIRIT  MANIFEST  A  TIONS.  187 

to  exist  in  that  place.  At  the  present  day  the  souls  of 
Roman  Catholics  will  return  and  ask  for  masses  to  be 
relieved  from  purgatory,  while  the  Protestants  refuse  to  be 
benefited  by  the  ceremonies  of  the  Catholic  Church.  The 
souls  of  dead  Hindus  ask  sometimes  for  the  performance 
of  sacrifices  to  their  gods,  and  every  "  spirit  "  appears  to 
be  domineered  by.  those  ideas  in  which  he  believed  during 
his  life.  The  discrepancy  in  their  reports  prove  that  their 
tales  are  usually  only  the  products  of  the  imagination  of 
the  irrational  soul. 

If  man  has  a  "  spirit,"  that  spirit  must  be  immortal. 
Having  become  conscious  in  man,  it  cannot  become  un- 
conscious again,  because  it  is  self-existent  and  independent 
of  all  conditions  but  those  which  it  creates  itself.  The  self- 
consciouness  of  the  I  Am  is  indestructible,  because  it  exists 
in  the  absolute  eternal  One.  The  more  the  lower  elements 
cling  to  that  principle  in  which  absolute  consciousness 
rests,  the  more  will  they  partake  of  its  state  and  be  rendered 
conscious  and  immortal.  The  object  of  man's  life  is  to 
become  conscious  that  He  is — not  an  illusive  personal 
form — but  an  impersonal,  immortal  reality.  The  object  of 
his  existence  is  to  render  the  unconscious  spirit  conscious 
and  the  mortal  soul  immortal ;  the  object  of  death  is  to 
release  that  which  is  conscious  from  that  which  is  uncon- 
scious, and  to  free  the  immortal  from  the  bonds  of  ignorance 
and  of  matter. 

The  tree  of  life  grows  and  produces  a  seed,  and  this  seed 
may  have  to  be  planted  again,  to  grow  into  a  tree  and  pro- 
duce another  seed,  and  this  process  may  have  to  be 
repeated  over  and  over  again,  until  at  last  the  spiritual 
consciousness  slumbering  in  the  seed  awakens  to  immortal 
life.  Again  and  again  may  the  soul  be  forced  by  the  law 
of  evolution  to  incarnate  into  flesh.  Unconscious  of  any 
relation  to  personalities,  it  will  be  attracted  to  such  condi- 
tions as  may  be  best  suited  for  its  further  development,  as 
its  Karma  decides.  It  will  be  attracted  to  overshadow  a 
man  whose  moral  and  intellectual  tendencies  and  qualities 
correspond  to  its  own,  careless  whether  it  enters  the 
world  as  a  new-born  babe  through  the  door  of  the  hut  of 
a  beggar,  or  through  the  palace  of  a  king.  It  does  not 
care  for  personal  conditions,  because  it  is  unconscious  of 
its  own  state. 

Thus  a  man  that  reigned  as  a  king  in  a  former  incarna- 


1 88  RE  INC  A  RNA  TlOtf. 

tion  may  be  reborn  as  a  beggar,  if  his  character  was  that 
of  a  beggar,  and  a  liberal  beggar  may  create  as  his  future 
successor  a  king  or  a  being  of  noble  birth.  Both  act  with- 
out freedom  of  choice  at  the  time  of  their  visit  to  the  Earth, 
following  unconsciously  their  Karma.  But  the  Adept, 
whose  spiritual  consciousness  is  awake,  will  be  his  own 
master.  He  has  grown  above  the  sense  of  personality,  and 
thereby  gained  immortal  consciousness  during  his  earthly 
life.  He  has  thrown  away  his  lower  self,  and  death  cannot 
rob  him  of  that  which  he  no  longer  possesses  and  to  which 
he  attaches  no  value.  Being  conscious  of  his  existence 
and  of  the  conditions  under  which  he  exists,  he  may  follow 
his  own  choice  in  the  selection  of  a  body,  if  he  chooses  to 
reincarnate,  either  for  the  benefit  of  humanity  or  for  his  own 
progression.  Having  entirely  overcome  the  attractions  of 
Earth,  he  is  truly  free.  He  is  dead  and  unconscious  to 
all  earthly  temptations,  but  conscious  of  the  highest  happi- 
ness attainable  by  man.  The  delusion  of  the  senses  can 
fashion  for  him  no  other  tabernacle  to  imprison  his  soul, 
and  before  him  lies  open  the  road  to  eternal  rest  in  Nirvana. 
If  a  person  has  once  attained  a  certain  amount  of  spiritual 
knowledge,  he  will — if  it  is  necessary  for  him  to  reincarnate 
again — not  need  to  follow  the  blind  law  of  attraction ;  but 
he  will  be  able  to  choose  the  body  and  the  conditions  most 
suitable  to  him.  He  may  then  reincarnate  himself  in  the 
body  of  a  child,  or  in  the  body  of  a  grown  person,  whose 
soul  has  been  separated  by  disease  or  accident  from  the 
body,  and  the  latter  may  thus  be  brought  to  life  again,  if 
no  vital  organ  is  too  seriously  injured  to  carry  on  the 
functions  of  life  again.  Cases  are  known  in  which  a  certain 
person  apparently  died,  and  finally  came  to  life  again, 
when  from  that  time  he  appeared  to  be  an  entirely  different 
man;  so,  for  instance,  he  may  have  died  as  a  ruffian  and 
after  his  recovery  become  suddenly  like  a  saint,  so  that 
such  a  sudden  change  appeared  inexplicable  on  any  other 
theory  than  that  an  entirely  different  character  had  taken 
possession  of  his  body.  Such  people  may,  after  their 
recovery  takes  place,  speak  a  language  they  never  learned  ; 
talk  familiarly  of  things  they  never  saw ;  call  people  by 
their  names,  of  which  they  never  heard  j  know  all  about 
places,  where  their  physical  bodies  never  have  been,  etc., 
etc.  If  phenomena  could  prove  anything,  such  occurrences 
might  go  to  prove  the  theory  of  the  reincarnation  of  living 
adepts. 


DE  GRA  DA  TION.  189 

To  die — in  the  real  meaning  of  the  term — is  to  become 
unconscious  in  relation  to  certain  things.  If  we  become 
unconscious  of  a  lower  state,  and  thereby  become  con- 
scious of  a  higher  existence,  such  a  change  cannot  properly 
be  called  death.  If  we  become  unconscious  of  a  higher 
condition,  and  thereby  enter  a  lower  one,  such  a  change 
is  followed  by  degradation,  and  therefore  degradation  is  the 
only  possible  death,  because  death  in  the  absolute  does  not 
exist.  Degradation  takes  place  if  a  human  faculty  is  em- 
ployed for  a  lower  purpose  than  that  for  which  it  was  by 
nature  intended.  Degradation  of  the  most  vulgar,  the  low- 
est material  type  takes  place,  if  the  organs  of  the  physical 
body  are  used  for  villainous  purposes,  and  disease,  atrophy 
and  death  are  the  common  result.  A  higher  and  still  more 
detrimental  and  lasting  degradation  takes  place,  if  the 
intellectual  faculties  are  habitually  used  for  selfish  and 
degrading  purposes.  In  such  cases  the  intellect,  that 
ought  to  serve  as  a  basis  for  spiritual  aspirations,  becomes 
merged  with  matter,  his  spiritual  consciousness  ceases  to 
exist, — in  other  words,  his  consciousness  is  entirely  bound 
down  to  the  plane  of  personality  and  selfishness,  and 
becomes  inactive  in  the  region  of  impersonality  and  life. 
The  lowest  and  most  enduring  degradation  takes  place  if 
man,  having  reached  a  state  in  which  his  personality  has, 
to  a  certain  extent,  been  absorbed  by  his  impersonal  /, 
degrades  his  spiritual  self  by  employing  the  powers  which 
such  an  amalgamation  confers  for  villainous  purposes  of  a 
low  character.  Such  are  the  practices  of  black  magic. 
A  person  who  for  want  of  any  better  understanding  em- 
ploys his  intellectual  faculties  for  his  own  selfish  purposes, 
regardless  of  the  principle  of  justice,  is  not  necessarily  a 
villain,  but  simply  ignorant  of  his  own  interests.  Such 
persons  cannot  die  spiritually,  because  they  have  not  yet 
come  spiritually  to  life.  The  murderer  may  commit  a 
murder  to  save  himself  from  being  discovered  of  some 
crime,  and  not  for  the  purpose  of  robbing  another 
person  of  life.  A  thief  may  steal  a  purse  for  the 
purpose  of  enriching  himself,  and  not  for  the  purpose  of 
rendering  another  man  poor.  Such  acts  are  the  result  of 
ignorance,  and  ignorance  has  no  permanent  life ;  persons 
usually  act  evil  for  selfish  purposes  and  not  for  the  pure 
love  of  evil.  Such  acts  are  the  result  of  personal  feelings, 
and  personal  feelings  cease  to  exist  when  the  personality 


190  BROTHERS  OF  THE  SHADOW. 

to  which  they  belong  ceases  to  exist.  Such  a  personal 
existence  ceases  when  his  life  on  the  physical  plane  or  in 
Kama  loca  ceases  to  act.  The  higher,  immortal  and 
impersonal  /  of  the  man  is  neither  a  gainer  nor  loser  on 
such  an  occasion,  it  remains  the  same  as  it  was  before  the 
compound  of  forces  representing  the  late  personality  was 
born. 

The  real  villain,  however,  is  he  who  performs  evil  for  the 
love  of  evil  without  personal  considerations.  A  person  who 
is  no  more  influenced  by  his  sense  of  personality,  and  has 
thereby  gained  spiritual  life  and  powers,  is  a  magician. 
Those  who  employ  such  powers  for  the  purposes  of  evil 
have  been  called  black  magicians  or  Brothers  of  the 
Shadow,  in  the  same  sense  as  those  who  employ  their 
spiritual  powers  for  good  purposes  have  been  called  Bro- 
thers of  Light.  The  white  magician  is  a  spiritual  power 
for  good ;  the  real  black  magician  is  a  living  power  of  evil 
attached  to  a  personality  that  performs  evil  instinctively 
and  for  the  love  of  evil  itself.  This  power  of  evil  may  kill 
the  man  or  the  animal  that  never  offended  it,  and  by  whose 
death  it  has  nothing  to  gain,  destroys  for  the  love  of  de- 
struction, causes  suffering  without  expecting  any  benefit  for 
itself,  robs  to  throw  away  the  spoils,  revels  in  torture  and 
death.  Such  a  person  calls  to  life  an  impersonal  evil 
power,  which  is  a  part  of  himself,  and  which  continues  to 
exist  after  his  personality  ceases  to  exist  on  the  physical 
plane.  Many  incarnations  may  be  needed  before  such  a 
power  will  come  into  existence  and  become  strong,  but 
when  it  once  lives  it  will  perish  as  slow  as  it  grew. 
"  Angels,"  as  well  as  "  devils,"  are  born  into  the  world,  and 
children  with  villainous  propensities  and  malicious 
characters  are  not  very  rare.  They  may  be  the  product 
of  such  forces  as  in  former  incarnations  have  developed  a 
tendency  for  evil,  without  becoming  fixed  in  evil  by 
developing  any  spiritual  consciousness  in  the  direction  of 
evil. 

Every  power  which  may  be  employed  for  a  good  purpose, 
may  also  be  used  for  an  evil  purpose.  If  we  can  by  magne- 
tism decrease  the  rapidity  of  the  pulse  of  a  fever-patient,  we 
may  also  decrease  it  to  such  an  extent,  that  the  subject 
ceases  to  live.  If  we  can  force  a  person  by  our  will  to 
perform  a  good  act,  we  may  also  force  him  to  commit  a 
crime. 


SORCEKY.  191 

It  appears  to  be  unnecessary  to  enter  into  details  in  re- 
gard to  the  practices  of  Black  Magic  and  ^orcery .  It  is  more 
noble  and  useful  to  study  how  we  can  benefit  mankind, 
than  to  satisfy  our  curiosity  in  regard  to  the  powers  for 
evil.  To  show  to  what  aberrations  of  mind  a  craving 
for  the  power  of  working  black  magic  may  lead,  it  may  be 
mentioned  that  the  would-be  black  magician,  Giles  de 
Raysy  marechal  of  France,  and  better  known  as  "  Blue 
Beard,"  who  was  executed  for  his  crimes  at  Nantes,  killed 
and  tortured  to  death  during  a  few  years  not  less  than  one 
hundred  and  sixty  women  and  children  for  the  purpose  of 
practising  Necromancy  and  Black  Magic. 

The  white  magician  delights  in  doing  good,  the  servant 
of  the  black  art  revels  in  cruelty  and  crime.  The  former 
co-operates  with  the  Divine  Spirit  of  Wisdom,  the  latter 
co-operates  with  the  animal  and  semi-intellectual  forces  of 
nature ;  the  former  will  be  exalted  in  God  and  united  with 
Him  ;  the  latter  will  ultimately  be  absorbed  by  the  devils 
with  which  he  has  associated  and  which  he  called  to  his 
aid. 

To  raise  our  consciousness  into  the  spiritual  plane  is  to 
live  j  to  let  it  sink  to  a  lower  level  is  to  die.  The  natural 
order  of  the  universe  is  that  the  high  should  elevate  the 
low ;  but  if  the  high  is  made  to  serve  the  low,  the  high 
will  be  degraded.  Everywhere  in  the  workshop  of  nature 
the  high  acts  upon  the  low  by  the  power  of  the  highest. 
The  highest  itself  cannot  be  degraded.  Truth  itself  cannot 
be  turned  into  falsehood,  it  can  only  be  rejected  and 
denied.  Reason  itself  cannot  be  rendered  foolish,  it  can 
only  be  refused  obedience.  The  universal  and  impersonal 
cannot  itself  become  limited,  it  can  only  come  into 
contact  with  such  personalities  as  are  able  to  approach  it. 
The  highest  does  not  suffer  by  breaking  its  connection 
with  the  low,  the  low  alone  suffers  and  dies. 

The  impersonal  and  real  is  everywhere,  and  manifests 
itself  in  the  consciousness  of  man.  Man's  consciousness 
rotates  between  the  two  poles  of  good  and  evil,  of  spirit 
and  matter ;  the  attraction  from  below  may  be  equal  to 
the  attraction  from  above.  The  omnipresent  influence  of 
the  great  spiritual  Sun  renders  him  strong  to  overcome  the 
ittraction  of  matter,  and  assists  hrni  to  come  victorious 
out  of  the  struggle  with  evil.  Man  is  not  entirely  free  as 
long  as  he  is  not  in  possession  of  perfect  knowledge,  which 


192  RELATIVE  FREEDOM. 

means,  of  a  perfect  consciousness  of  the  truth  ;  but  he  is 
free  to  allow  himself  to  be  attracted  by  a  love  for  the  truth 
or  to  repulse  it.  His  spiritual  aspirations  may  be  in  co- 
operation with  nature  or  act  against  it.  He  may  become 
united  with  the  principle  of  truth,  or  he  may  sever  his 
connection  with  it  and  sell  his  inherited  rights  to  immor- 
tality, like  the  biblical  Esau,  for  a  comparatively  worthless 
mess  of  pottage.  The  Centaur  in  his  nature,  whose  lower 
principles  are  animal,  while  the  upper  parts  are  possessed 
of  intellect,  may  carry  away  his  spiritual  aspirations  and 
lull  them  into  unconsciousness  by  the  music  of  its  illu- 
sions. 

Bodies  may  be  comparatively  long-lived,  and  some  souls, 
compared  with  others,  may  be  very  enduring ;  but  there 
is  nothing  permanent  but  the  consciousness  of  love  and 
the  consciousness  of  hate.  Love  is  light,  and  hate  is 
darkness,  and  in  the  end  love  will  conquer  hate  because 
darkness  cannot  destroy  light,  and  wherever  light  pene- 
trates into  darkness,  there  will  love  conquer,  and  hate  and 
darkness  will  disappear. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

TRANSFORMATIONS. 
"  Be  ye  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  mind." — Rom.  xii.  2. 

THE  Universe  is  a  manifestation  of  thought,  and  thought  is 
an  action  of  Mind.  The  mind  whose  thought  can  bring 
an  universe  into  existence  must  be  an  Universal  Mind, 
embracing  in  its  totality  all  the  individual  minds  that  ever 
existed,  and  containing  the  germs  of  everything  that  will 
ever  come  into  existence. 

Mind  is  a  motion  of  will.  Without  the  will  acting  either 
consciously  or  instinctively  (mechanically)  within  the  mind, 
there  would  be  no  production  of  thought ;  nor  could  the 
will  produce  any  orderly  thought  on  the  mind  if  there  were 
no  Wisdom,  and  it  will  therefore  be  safer  to  say :  The 
Universe  is  a  product  of  thought,  will  and  wisdom  ;  nor 
could  either  of  these  three  ever  produce  anything,  if  they 
were  seeking  to  act  independently  of  each  other;  they 
must  necessarily  be  one,  and  that  one,  representing  itself  in 
three  different  aspects,  as  Creative  Thought,  Universal 
Will  and  Divine  Wisdom,  is  commonly  called  God.  It 
will  therefore  be  best  to  say  :  The  Universe  is  a  manifest- 
ation of  God. 

I  am  well  aware  that  the  use  of  such  an  expression 
always  gives  rise  to  innumerable  misunderstandings  in  the 
minds  of  theists,  atheists  and  pantheists  ;  because  each  of 
these  classes  has  its  own  conception  of  "  God ; "  forgetting 

'93 


t94  GOD 

that  the  finite  mind  cannot  conceive  of  the  infinite,  and 
that  the  universal  God  is  beyond  the  understanding  of  any* 
thing  less  than  its  own  divine  self. 

A  man's  life  does  not  reside  outside,  but  within  his  own 
body,  and  likewise  God  does  not  live  outside  of  His  own 
creation  ;  but  His  power  acts  inside  of  Nature.  God  is 
everything  in  Nature,  and  also  in  that  which  is  not  pro- 
duced by  nature,  and  therefore  supernatural  and  eternal, 
such  as  Justice  and  Truth.  Nevertheless  Nature  is  not 
God  ;  everything  is  not  divine ;  but  everything  is  a  state 
of  being  wherein,  under  certain  conditions,  the  power  of 
God  can  become  manifest.  Likewise  a  stone  or  a  tree  is 
not  nature  ;  but  in  each  stone  and  in  every  tree  certain 
qualities  of  natural  laws  are  revealed. 

If  God  is  all  and  one,  then  there  can  be  only  one 
original  power  and  one  original  substance  ;  and  power  and 
substance  themselves  can  only  be  two  modes  of  manifesta- 
tion of  the  eternal  One.  There  can  be  neither  "  matter  " 
nor  "  motion  n  per  se ;  these  two  terms  signify  merely  two 
aspects  of  that  which  is  beyond  our  conception.  If  our 
minds  were  independent  of  the  conceptions  of  time  and 
space,  we  might  perceive  how  it  was  that  the  One  ever  came 
to  manifest  itself  as  a  Three  and  to  create  a  world  ;  but  as  we 
are  ourselves  His  creatures,  we  cannot  encompass  our 
Creator,  we  cannot  penetrate  with  our  curiosity  into  the 
sanctuary  of  the  mystery  of  mysteries;  we  can  merely  rise 
up  in  our  thought  to  the  throne  of  the  Eternal,  and  seek  to 
feel  the  power  of  God  within  our  own  heart,  and  then  we 
will  know  more  about  Him  than  if  we  study  the  whole 
library  of  the  Vatican,  or  learn  by  heart  the  Encyclopedia 
theologica. 

Jacob  Boehme,  a  man  who  was  capable  to  open  his 
eyes  and  to  see  the  truth,  and  who  was  therefore  not 
under  the  necessity  of  depending  on  mere  belief  in  what 
he  might  have  imagined  to  be  true  in  consequence  of  draw- 
ing logical  inferences  from  external  observations,  says  : 
'•'  The  eternal  foundation,  the  will  of  God,  became  desirous 
of  conceiving  of  something,  and  as  there  was  nothing  but 
its  own  self,  this  universal  consciousness  conceived  of  its 
own  self;  '  it  looked  within  itself,'  or,  to  express  it  in  other 
words,  *  God  beholds  Himself  in  the  mirror  of  His  own 
eternal  Wisdom.'  * 

Human  language  is  not  well  adapted  to  the  discussion 


UMTY.  195 

of  eternal  truths  which  are  beyond  finite  comprehension, 
and  which  can  never  be  understood  unless  we  call  to  our 
aid  that  very  light  of  whose  existence  we  desire  to  obtain 
proof.  Therefore,  the  external  reasoner  and  doubter,  he 
who  relies  solely  on  his  own  intellectual  reasoning,  will 
never  arrive  at  eternal  truth,  because  he  rejects  the  light 
of  the  spirit,  and  extinguishes — not  the  light— but  his  own 
capacity  of  understanding. 

If  there  is  only  one  God  in  the  universe;  there  can  be 
only  one  power.  This  power  is  called  the  Will,  and  it  is 
fundamentally  the  same,  whether  it  manifests  itself  in  the 
spiritual  plane,  as  divine  love,  wisdom,  life,  light,  justice 
and  truth  ;  on  astral  plane,  as  attraction,  repulsion,  emotion, 
passion,  desire  ;  in  the  physical  plane,  as  motion,  light,  heat, 
magnetism,  electricity,  cohesion,  chemical  affinity  or  any- 
thing else.  All  these  powers  and  forces  and  energies  are 
and  can  be  nothing  else  but  manifestations  of  Will  acting 
on  the  higher  planes  with  and  on  the  lower  ones  without 
self-consciousness.  God  never  changes,  and  the  Will  never 
changes.  Nothing  ever  changes  except  the  mode  of  the 
manifestation.  All  these  assertions  require  no  otherproof 
but  one's  own  observation.  If  you  doubt  them,  look  within 
yourself,  and  ask  yourself  whether  or  not  they  are  true. 

If  there  is  only  one  God  in  the  Universe,  there  can  be 
only  one  Substance.  This  substance  can  fundamentally 
likewise  be  nothing  else  but  the  Will,  but  for  the  sake  of 
distinction  we  may  call  it  the  Mind,  because  it  is  by  means 
of  a  mental  imagery  that  the  Will  creates  thoughts  within 
itself.  We  might  also  call  it  "  Imagination  "  or  "  Ideation  ' ; 
but  whatever  words  we  may  use,  there  is  each  and  every  one 
of  them  liable  to  be  misunderstood,  because  words  are 
merely  symbols,  and  to  the  understanding  of  any  symbol  a 
key  is  necessary.  This  key  is  the  understanding  itself, 
which  can  be  given  by  no  man  because  it  is  a  self-existent 
principle  that  is  not  of  man's  making,  but  will  come  to  him 
by  its  own  grace,  if  he  makes  himself  ready  for  its  reception. 

This  one  Substance  is  fundamentally  the  same  in  all 
departments  of  nature.  It  constitutes  the  body  of  God, 
and  therefore  of  the  highest  angels.  It  forms  the  vehicle 
of  Spirit  and  Light  and  Thought ;  it  is  everything  ;  from 
the  Astral  Light  that  pervades  the  world,  down  to  the 
most  grossly  material  objects.  The  highest  mountains  no 
less  than  the  most  minute  atoms  are  corporified  Mind; 


196  fOJKMS. 

thoughts  rendered  solid  and  material  by  the  inactivity  of 
their  inherent  Will.  If  the  will  of  God  were  to  begin  to 
move  within  the  foundations  of  the  earth,  the  world  which 
we  now  occupy  would  be  dissolved  in  the  twinkling  of 
an  eye. 

All  is  one,  and  the  one  is  in  eternal  rest.  Nevertheless 
we  find  no  absolute  rest  anywhere  ;  but  wherever  we  look 
we  find  a  continual  change  of  form  and  activity,  a  trans- 
formation of  the  images  existing  in  the  infinite  mind.  If 
the  mode  of  activity  of  the  will  is  changed  within  a  form, 
the  form  changes  its  attributes  ;  but  form  itself  is  nothing. 
It  is  merely  an  external  appearance.  There  is  consequently 
no  change  of  anything  except  of  the  appearance  and  mode 
of  manifestation  of  that  which  eternally  is. 

Forms  are  shapes  of  the  Will,  tinctured  by  the  Imagina- 
tion, or,  we  may  also  say,  they  are  shapes  of  mind,  whose 
qualities  are  determined  by  the  action  of  the  will  residing 
in  them.  They  are  all  certain  states  of  Mind  and  Will,  and 
as  such  they  are  enduring  or  not  according  to  the  quality 
and  intensity  of  the  vibrations  of  the  divine  light  that 
causes  them  to  exist  as  an  appearance  on  the  screen  of 
creation.  They  are  all  manifestations  of  their  own  inner 
spiritual  light,  rendered  objective  and  corporeal.  If  the 
will  and  thought  constituting  a  form  are  divine,  the  form 
will  be  perfect ;  if  the  will  is  impure,  or  the  thought  inhar- 
monious, there  will  be  disharmony  in  the  form  which  is 
their  external  expression. 

The  perfection  and  duration  of  a  form  depends  on  the 
quality  of  the  character  expressed  therein.  A  thought 
which  is  a  perfect  expression  of  the  truth  is  everlasting  and 
beautiful;  it  will  require  no  circumstantial  evidence  to  prove 
that  it  is  true  ;  its  truth  will  be  self-evident  to  every  one  who 
is  capable  to  perceive  it.  Every  one  who  possesses  truth 
himself  is  an  authorized  expert  in  knowing  the  truth,  while 
the  sceptic  and  liar  cannot  see  the  truth,  however  learned 
he  may  otherwise  be. 

A  thought  once  formed  exists  as  an  image  in  the  mirror 
of  eternity.  To  remember  a  thought,  is  to  look  for  it  in 
the  Astral  Light  and  to  behold  it  there.  The  Astral  Light 
is  the  book  of  nature,  where  every  thought  becomes 
engraved  and  every  event  recorded.  The  stars  on  the  sky 
exist  and  every  one  may  see  them.  Likewise  ideas  exist 
like  stars  on  the  inner  sky  of  the  Universal  Mind,  shedding 


7 HE  SOUL  OF  THINGS.  197 

their  rays  into  the  minds  of  men,  and  he  who  is  able  to 
open  his  eyes  sufficiently  can  behold  them  there.  No  one 
can  monopolize  an  idea,  they  are  accessible  to  all  who  can 
grasp  them,  and  they  are  sometimes  grasped  simultaneously 
by  receptive  minds.  No  one  can  create  a  body  out  of 
nothing,  no  one  can  create  an  idea  ;  all  that  raen  can  do  is 
to  take  the  already  existing  materials  and  to  put  them  into 
new  shapes.  A  man  who  thus  evolves  a  new  and  grand 
idea  kindles  a  new  star  in  the  heavens,  whose  light  may  be 
seen  by  every  one. 

Not  only  do  the  thoughts  of  men  impress  themselves 
into  the  Astral  Light,  but  the  Universal  Mind  takes  cog- 
nizance of  everything  that  exists,  and  every  event  that  takes 
place  on  the  physical  plane  is  recorded  in  the  memory  of 
nature.  Every  stone,  every  plant,  every  animal  as  well  as 
every  man,  has  a  sphere  in  which  is  recorded  every  event 
of  its  existence.  Each  is  like  a  light  of  which  we  can  see 
only  the  grossly  material  wick  ;  but  neither  the  flame  nor 
its  luminous  sphere  of  living  light.  In  the  Astral  Light  of 
each  is  stored  up  every  event  of  its  past  history  and  of  the 
history  of  its  surroundings  ;  so  that  every  thing — no  matter 
how  insignificant  it  may  be — can  give  an  account  of  its 
daily  life,  from  the  beginning  of  its  existence  as  a  form  up 
to  the  present,  to  him  who  is  able  to  read.  A  piece  of 
lava  from  Pompeii  may  give  to  the  Psychometer  a  true 
description  of  the  volcanic  eruption  that  devastated  that 
town  and  buried  it  under  its  ashes,  where  it  remained  hid- 
den for  nearly  two  thousand  years  ;  a  floating  timber 
carried  by  the  Gulf  Stream  to  the  far  North  may  give  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  North  a  true  picture  of  tropical  life  ; 
and  a  piece  of  bone  of  a  Mastodon  may  teach  the  vegetable 
and  animal  life  of  antediluvian  periods.* 

The  pictures  impressed  in  the  Astral  Light  react  upon 
the  mental  spheres  of  individual  minds  and  may  create  in 
them  emotional  disturbances,  even  if  these  pictures  do  not 
come  to  the  full  consciousness  of  their  minds.  Deeds  com- 
mitted with  a  great  concentration  of  thought  call  living 
pictures  in  the  Astral  Light  into  existence,  that  may  cause 
impressible  persons  to  commit  similar  acts. 

If  the  true  nature  of  the  constitution  of  man  were  pro- 
perly understood,  capital  punishment  would  soon  be  aban- 


*  Prof.  Wm.  Denton:  "  Soul  of  Things." 


I98  CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT. 

doned  as  perfectly  useless,  unjust  and  contrary  to  the  law 
of  nature.  That  which  commits  a  murder  or  any  other 
crime  is  a  conscious  and  invisible  power,  which  cannot  be 
killed,  and  which  does  not  improve  in  character  by  being 
separated  from  its  external  form.  The  body  is  innocent,  it 
is  merely  an  instrument  in  the  hands  of  the  invisible  culprit, 
the  inner  man.  The  face  of  even  a  criminal  bears  an 
expression  of  peace  when  the  soul  has  departed.  By 
severing  the  bonds  between  this  intellectual  and  vicious 
power  and  the  physical  form,  we  do  not  change  its  ten- 
dency to  act  evil ;  but  while  during  the  life  of  the  body  the 
action  of  that  power  was  restricted  to  only  one  form,  having 
been  liberated,  it  may  now  incite  numerous  other  weak- 
minded  people  to  perform  the  same  crime  for  which  the 
body  was  executed.  Thus  by  capital  punishment  evil  is 
not  abolished,  but  its  sphere  of  action  increased.  As  far 
as  the  theory  of  influencing  other  would-be  criminals  with 
fear,  by  making  an  example  of  one,  thus  to  prevent  others 
from  committing  crimes,  is  concerned ;  it  is  well  known 
that  criminals  do  not  look  upon  any  punishment  as  being 
something  which  they  have  deserved  for  their  deeds,  but 
as  being  a  consequence  of  having  been  so  careless  as  to 
allow  themselves  to  be  caught,  and  they  usually  make  up 
their  minds,  that  if  they  were  permitted  to  escape,  they 
would  be  more  careful — not  to  be  caught  again. 

The  destruction  of  a  form  is  entirely  useless  for  the  pur- 
pose of  annihilating  the  principle  which  it  represents,  be- 
cause the  form  is  not  the  character,  nor  can  the  destruction 
of  the  form  in  any  way  improve  or  ameliorate  that  character. 
He  who  steals  away  the  life  of  any  being,  whether  legally 
or  illegally,  merely  destroys  the  conditions  under  which  a 
Spark  of  the  Divinity  was  striving  to  unfold  its  light  and 
to  obtain  consciousness,  and  he  thereby  commits  a  crime 
against  God  ;  while  the  punishment  of  the  culprit  exists 
nowhere  except  in  his  imagination,  because  if  he  is  not 
afraid  to  die,  death  will  be  no  punishment  to  him.  All 
that  killing  can  possibly  accomplish  is  to  produce  a  change 
of  external  effects,  creating  thereby  internal  causes  which 
are  far  more  injurious  even  if  they  are  less  evident.  We 
are  against  killing  for  the  sake  of  convenience  ;  but  on  the 
other  hand  we  would  not  subscribe  to  that  sentimental 
policy  that  never  wards  off  a  blow  and  submits  to  be 
killed.  He  who  permits  himself  to  be  killed  by  another, 
is  committing  murder  through  him.  From  a  misunder- 


REFORMS.  199 

standing  of  the  relations  existing  between  a  principle  and 
the  form  in  which  it  finds  its  expression  result  the  most 
ludicrous  effects ;  not  the  least  of  which  are  the  vagaries 
of  those  who  attempt  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  world 
by  doctoring  the  external  effects  of  internal  causes,  where- 
by invariably  worse  evils  come  into  existence.  If  we  wish 
to  prevent  the  growth  of  an  evil  tree,  it  is  of  little  use  to 
lop  off  the  leaves  and  the  twigs,  or  even  to  hide  the  tree 
behind  a  screen.  The  living  force  in  the  roots  and  in  the 
trunk  will  act  with  renewed  strength,  producing  new 
branches  and  leaves,  which  the  screen  cannot  cover  from 
sight. 

All  forms  are  nothing  but  symbols  by  which  internal 
principles  find  their  expression  ;  to  successfully  change  a 
form  it  must  be  endowed  with  a  new  principle.  We  may 
melt  iron  a  thousand  times,  we  cannot  transform  it  into 
gold,  nor  could  we  transform  a  sinner  into  a  saint  if  we 
were  to  baptize  him  with  all  the  water  that  runs  into  the 
sea,  but  we  only  make  a  piece  of  iron  magnetic  by  endow- 
ing it  with  magnetism,  and  a  villain  may  become  honest  if 
the  light  of  the  true  understanding  enters  his  heart. 

Each  being  in  nature  represents  a  mental  state  in  a  cer- 
tain condition  of  vibration.  Each  represents  a  melody  in 
the  great  symphony  of  the  music  of  the  spheres  ;  and  as  one 
sound  of  an  instrument  may  cause  a  similar  vibration  in  a 
corresponding  instrument,  likewise  the  principle  expressed 
in  one  form  may  call  a  similar  principle  in  another  form 
into  action. 

If  mankind  as  a  whole  were  so  far  awakened  from  their 
slumber  as  to  be  able  to  recognize  the  existence  of  eternal 
principles,  instead  of  merely  beholding  the  perishing  form, 
then  would  the  golden  era  begin  and  the  paradise  be  again 
established  upon  the  earth.  Then  would  they  cease  to 
run  after  illusions  and  shadows,  or  to  put  their  faith  into 
worthless  objects.  Then  would  they  behold  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  everything  and  the  Redeemer  within  themselves. 
Then  would  the  world  be  transformed  by  the  magic  power 
of  love,  and  the  darkness  of  ignorance  be  changed  into  the 
light  of  knowledge  by  the  influence  of  the  rays  of  divine 
wisdom. 

But  what  else  can  an  eternal  principle  be,  except  a  state 
of  living  will  tinctured  by  divine  thought  ?  Even  the  highest 
spiritual  beings  and  planetary  spirits  can  be  nothing  else  but 
self-conscious  thoughts  of  God,  vehicles  for  the  divine  will 


200  SYMPA  THIES. 

and  instruments  for  its  manifestation ;  all  being  obedient 
to  divine  law,  order  and  harmony,  without  which  they 
could  not  be  divine  or  eternal. 

God  does  not  need  the  world  to  enable  him  to  be  what 
He  is,  but  Nature  requires  God  to  enable  her  to  exist. 
The  principle  of  life  requires  no  form,  but  forms  need  the 
principle  of  life  to  enable  it  to  live.  Likewise  eternal  love 
and  justice  and  truth  are  self-existent,  self-sufficient  and 
independent  of  any  object  or  form ;  but  they  cannot 
manifest  themselves  without  appropriate  forms,  and  the 
forms  that  require  them  to  enable  them  to  love,  to  be  just 
and  true.  In  other  words  :  God  is  independent  of  His 
creation;  but  creation  is  dependent  on  Him.* 

Thus  the  sun  could  exist  without  our  earth,  but  the  earth 
not  without  the  sun ;  a  man  can  be  without  truth,  but 
eternal  truth  nevertheless  remains  what  it  is,  even  if  there 
were  no  one  to  recognize  it. 

Thus  we  see  that  nothing  will  ever  change  or  be  trans- 
formed, except  by  the  influence  of  another  principle.  A 
natural  product  grows  by  the  influence  of  natural  principles, 
and  that  which  is  divine  in  man  by  the  influence  of  the 
Divine ;  while  that  which  is  devilish  in  man  will  grow  by 
the  aid  of  the  Devil. 

All  things  are  made  of  will  and  thought,  and  therefore 
thought  and  will  can  act  even  upon  corporeal  substances. 
Anything  a  person  touches  receives  a  part  of  his  own  spirit. 

A  lock  of  hair,  a  piece  of  clothing,  the  handwriting  of  a 
person  or  any  article  he  may  have  touched,  handled,  or 
worn,  may  indicate  to  an  intuitive  individual  that  person's 
state  of  health,  his  physical,  emotional,  intellectual,  and 
moral  attributes  and  qualifications.  The  picture  of  a 
murderer  may  be  impressed  on  the  retina  of  his  victim, 
and  in  some  instances  be  reproduced  by  means  of  photo- 
graphy ;  but  it  is  surely  impressed  on  all  the  surroundings 
of  the  place  where  the  deed  occurred,  and  can  there  be 
detected  by  the  psychometer,  who  may  thus  come  en  rap- 
port with  the  criminal,  and  even  follow  the  events  of  his 
life  after  he  has  left  that  locality,  and  hunt  him  down  just 
as  the  bloodhound  traces  the  steps  of  a  fugitive  slave.f 

*  See  Jacob  Boehme,  "  Aurora  "  23. 

t  Emma  Hardinge  Britten  :  "  Ghost  Land."  The  case  cited  in  this 
book,  in  which  a  clairvoyant  followed  the  tracks  of  a  murderer  through 
several  towns  and  caught  him  at  last,  is  quoted  in  several  German 
publications  of  the  last  century. 


PRECIOUS  STONES.  201 

This  tendency  of  the  Astral  Light  to  inhere  in  material 
bodies  gives  amulets  their  power  and  invests  keepsakes 
and  relics  with  certain  occult  properties.  A  ring,  a  lock 
of  hair,  or  a  letter  from  a  friend,  may  not  only  conjure  up 
that  friend's  cture  in  a  person's  memory,  but  bring  him 
en  rapport  w.^h  a  peculiar  mental  state  of  which  that  per- 
son was  or  is  a  representation.  Why  do  people  put  so 
much  value  upon  the  keepsakes  received  from  a  friend 
that  they  often  dawdle  away  their  time  in  playing  with 
them  ?  Is  it  that  their  memory  is  so  weak  as  to  require 
such  a  stimulus;  or  is  there  something  of  that  friend  about 
them  which  the  soul  feels  and  perceives,  but  which  cannot 
be  recognized  externally  ?  If  you  wish  to  forget  a  person, 
or  free  yourself  from  his  magnetic  attraction,  part  from 
everything  that  reminds  you  of  him.  Articles  belonging 
to  a  person  may  bring  us  in  sympathy  with  that  person, 
although  the  fact  may  not  come  to  our  consciousness,  and 
this  circumstance  is  sometimes  used  for  purposes  of  black 
magic. 

The  existence  of  a  power,  by  which  a  disease  may  be 
transferred  upon  a  healthy  person,  even  in  "  non-conta- 
gious "  cases,  by  means  of  some  article  belonging  to  the 
sick  person,  is  generally  believed  in  by  the  people  in 
eastern  countries.  It  must,  however,  be  remembered  that 
in  making  such  experiments  the  success  depends  on  the 
amount  of  faith  which  the  magician  can  employ.  Without 
faith,  nothing  can  be  accomplished,  but  "  faith "  means 
"  will  without  any  doubt, "  such  as  is  attained  by  experience. 

As  every  form  is  the  representation  of  a  certain  mental 
state,  every  substance  has  its  sympathies  and  its  antipa- 
thies ;  the  loadstone  attracts  iron,  and  iron  attracts  the 
oxygen  of  the  air ;  hygroscopic  bodies  attract  water;  some 
substances  change  their  colors  under  certain  colored  rays, 
others  remain  unaffected,  etc. 

The  ancients  attributed  certain  virtues  to  certain  pre- 
cious stones,  and  imagined  that  the  Garnet  was  conducive 
to  joy,  the  Chalcedony  to  courage,  the  Topaz  promoting 
chastity,  the  Amethyst  assisting  reason,  and  the  Sapphire 
intuition.  A  spiritual  force  to  be  effective  requires  a  sen- 
sitive object  to  act  upon.  But  every  spiritual  or  any 
other  force  can  only  come  to  the  cognizance  of  him  who  is 
receptive  for  it.  If  a  person  cannot  feel  the  occult 
influences  of  nature,  it  does  not  necessarily  follow  that 


202  DRUGS. 

they  do  not  exist,  and  that  there  may  not  be  others  who 
may  be  able  to  perceive  them  because  their  impressional 
capacities  are  greater. 

Only  the  ignorant  man  believes  that  he  knows  every- 
thing. What  is  really  known  is  only  like  a  grain  of  sand 
on  the  shore  of  the  ocean  in  comparison  to  what  is  still 
unknown.  Physiologists  know  that  certain  plants  and 
chemicals  have  certain  powers,  and  to  a  certain  extent 
they  explain  their  secondary  effects.  They  know  that 
Digitalis  decreases  the  quickness  of  the  pulse  by  para- 
lyzing the  heart ;  that  Belladonna  dilates  the  pupil  by  para- 
lyzing the  muscular  fibres  of  the  Iris  ;  that  Opium  in  small 
doses  produces  sleep  by  causing  anaemia  of  the  brain, 
while  large  doses  produce  coma  by  causing  congestion ; 
but  why  these  substances  have  such  effects,  or  why  a  chem- 
ical compound  of  Nitrogen,  Oxygen,  Carbon,  and  Hidro- 
gen  may  be  exceedingly  poisonous  in  one  chemical  com- 
bination, while  the  same  substances  if  combined  in  a 
different  stoechiometrical  proportion  may  be  used  as  food, 
neither  chemistry  nor  physiology  can  tell  us  at  present. 
If  we,  however,  look  upon  all  forms  as  symbols  of  mental 
states,  it  will  not  be  more  difficult  to  imagine  why  strych- 
nine is  poisonous,  than  why  hate  can  kill,  or  fear  paralyze 
the  heart. 

If  all  things  are  made  of  imagination  and  will,  then 
surely  drugs  are  the  same,  and  by  giving  drug  a  to  a  patient, 
we  merely  induce  a  corresponding  activity  in  his  will,  and 
act  upon  the  imagination  of  his  nature.  The  fact  that  the 
patient  is  not  himself  conscious  of  it,  does  not  change  the 
matter.  There  are  many  processes  going  on  in  his  system 
of  which  he  has  no  knowledge.  We,  therefore,  see  that 
even  the  most  rabid  anti-mind  curer  and  drug-doctor  acts 
after  all  himself  upon  the  mind  of  the  patient. 

The  power  to  receive,  transform  and  evolve  thoughts 
is  the  power  of  Imagination.  If  an  idea  enters  into  the 
mind,  the  mind  seeks  to  clothe  it  into  a  form,  and  this 
power  may  be  exercised  independently  of  any  active 
application  of  the  will. 

Imagination  is,  therefore,  an  active  power,  and  it  forms 
the  basis  of  all  artistic  and  magical  operations.  Art  and 
magic  are  closely  related  together;  both  give  objective 
form  to  subjective  ideas.  The  artist  exercises  this  power 
when  he  mentally  projects  the  picture  formed  in  his  mind 


IMA  GIN  A  TION.  203 

upon  the  canvas  and  chains  it  there  by  the  use  of  his  pencil 
or  brush  ;  the  sculptor  shapes  the  picture  of  a  form  on  his 
mind  and  embodies  it  in  the  marble.  He  then  employs 
mechanical  force  to  free  the  ideal  from  all  irregularities, 
and  resurrects  it  from  the  tomb,  out  of  which  it  may  rise 
as  a  materialization  of  thought.  The  magician  forms  an 
image  on  his  mind  and  makes  it  perceptible  to  others  by 
projecting  it  into  their  mental  spheres. 

By  this  law  many  of  the  feats  performed  by  Indian 
fakirs  may  be  explained.  They  may  cause  tigers  and 
elephants  or  anything  else  appear  before  a  multitude,  by 
merely  forming  the  images  of  such  things  in  the  sphere  of 
their  mind,  and  as  that  sphere  extends  through  space,  they 
may  locate  these  images  wherever  they  chose.  What  the 
spectators  see  on  such  occasions  is  nothing  else  but  the 
thoughts  of  the  conjuror,  rendered  objective  and  visible  by 
his  will. 

In  the  case  of  an  artist  mechanical  labor  executes  the 
work,  and  the  artist  will  finish  his  work  the  sooner  the 
more  he  works  to  that  end.  In  the  case  of  a  magician, 
concentration  of  thought  executes  his  work,  and  he  will 
succeed  the  better  the  more  his  thought  is  concentrated 
upon  the  work  he  desires  to  perform ;  but  the  greatest 
amount  of  labor  will  not  enable  a  person,  who  is  not  an 
artist  to  produce  a  real  work  of  art,  and  the  greatest  con- 
centration of  thought  will  not  enable  a  person  whose  will 
is  not  free  to  perform  a  true  magical  feat. 

As  long  as  the  world  exists  no  man  has  ever  changed  an 
opinion  or  an  idea,  except  by  the  influx  of  another  idea ; 
nor  has  any  Alchemist  ever  changed  any  inferior  metal 
into  gold  except  by  the  influence  of  that  principle  which 
constitutes  gold ;  nor  has  evil  ever  been  transformed  into 
good,  except  through  the  action  of  the  superior  power  of 
good. 

The  processes  of  nature  are  alchemical  processes  and 
not  merely  chemical  ones;  because,  without  the  principle 
of  life  acting  upon  the  chemical  substances  of  the  earth,  no 
growth  would  result.  If  the  force  of  attraction  and  repul- 
sion were  entirely  equal,  everything  would  be  at  a  standstill. 
If  growth  and  decay  would  go  hand  in  hand,  nothing 
could  grow,  because  a  cell  would  begin  to  decay  as  soon  as 
it  would  begin  to  form.  The  chemist  may  take  earth,  and 
water,  and  air,  and  separate  them  into  their  constituent 


204  SPIRITUS  MUNDI. 

elements,  and  recombine  them  again,  and  at  the  end  of  his 
work  he  will  be  with  his  work  where  he  began.  But  the 
Alchemy  of  nature  takes  water,  and  earth,  and  air,  and 
infuses  into  them  the  fire  of  life,  forming  them  into  trees 
and  producing  flowers  and  fruits.  Nature  could  not  give 
her  life-imparting  influence  to  her  children  if  she  did  not 
possess  it;  the  chemist  who  has  no  life-principle  at  his 
command  cannot  perform  the  wonders  of  Alchemy. 

Johannes  Tritheim  says  :  "  The  Spiritus  Mundi  resem- 
bles a  breath,  appearing  at  first  like  a  fog  and  afterwards 
condensing  like  water.  This  *  water  '  (A'kasa)  was  in  the 
beginning  pervaded  by  the  principle  of  life,  and  light  was 
awakened  in  it  by  \hzfiat  of  the  eternal  spirit.  This  spirit 
of  light,  called  the  soul  of  the  world  (the  Astral  Light),  is 
a  spiritual  substance,  which  can  be  made  visible  and  tan- 
gible by  art ;  it  is  a  substance,  but,  being  invisible,  we  call 
it  spirit.  This  *  soul '  or  corpus  is  hidden  in  the  centre  of 
everything,  and  can  be  extracted  by  means  of  the  spiritual 
fire  in  man,  which  is  identical  with  the  universal  spiritual 
fire  (the  Astral  Light),  constituting  the  essence  of  nature 
and  containing  the  images  and  figures  of  the  Universal 
Mind." 

"  This  Light  (Astral  Light)  resides  in  the  Water  (A'kasa) 
and  is  hidden  as  a  Seed  in  all  things.  Everything  that 
originated  from  the  spirit  of  light  is  sustained  by  it,  and 
therefore  this  spirit  is  omnipresent ;  the  whole  of  nature 
would  perish  and  disappear  if  it  were  removed  from  it  j  it 
is  the princip turn  of  all  things." 

There  were  true  Alchemists  during  the  Middle  Ages  who 
knew  how  to  extract  that  Seed  from  the  soul-essence  of  the 
world,  and  there  are  some  who  have  the  power  to  perform 
that  process  to-day.  "  It  is  an  eternal  truth,  that  without 
our  secret  magical  fire  nothing  can  be  accomplished  in  our 
art.  The  ignorant  will  not  believe  in  our  art  because  they 
do  not  possess  that  fire  ;  and  without  that  fire  all  their 
labor  is  useless.  Without  that  fire  spirits  cannot  be  bound, 
much  less  can  they  be  acted  upon  with  material  fire."  * 

The  most  important  alchemical  work  is  the  generation 
of  man;  it  requires  not  only  the  chemical  combination  of 
physical  substances,  but  involves  a  chemistry  of  the  soul 
and  an  influence  of  the  spirit,  and  all  must  harmoniously 

*  J.  Tritheim  :  "  Miraculosa,"  Chap.  xiv. 


CHEMISTRY  OF  LIFE.  205 

act  together,  if  a  human  being  and  not  a  human  monster 
and  mental  homunculus  is  to  be  the  result.  If  the  rules  of 
Alchemy  were  better  understood  and  adhered  to,  scrofula, 
cancers,  syphilis,  tuberculosis,  and  other  inherited  diseases 
would  disappear,  and  a  strong  and  healthy  generation  of 
men  and  women  would  be  the  result. 

The  true  alchemical  laboratory  is  the  body  of  man,  the 
alembic  is  the  soul,  the  magic  fire  the  will,  having  become 
free.  Ignorance  is  like  lead,  but  by  the  addition  of  mercury, 
representing  knowledge,  it  becomes  transformed  into  the 
pure  gold  of  wisdom.  Nothing  will  ever  be  accomplished 
without  a  mortification  of  the  earthly  residua,  and  it  is  for 
that  purpose  necessary  to  practise  a  continual  sublimation 
of  thought  by  sending  the  aspirations  of  the  soul  up  to  the 
highest  good,  and  to  coagulate  the  wisdom  received,  so 
that  it  may  be  incorporated  into  the  soul  and  even  the 
body  become  luminous  in  the  light  of  the  spirit.* 

All  this  can  be  accomplished  only  in  proportion  as  the 
will  becomes  free  and  ceases  to  be  the  slave  of  that  com- 
pound of  elementals  and  animals  which  constitutes  the 
illusive  ego  of  man.  Not  only  should  the  will  be  free  of  all 
lower  desires,  but  free  likewise  from  the  dominion  of  the 
imagination.  The  will  is  the  sun,  the  imagination  the 
moon.  The  moon  must  obey  the  sun,  not  the  sun  to  the 
moon.  Thought  must  become  obedient  to  the  will  and  the 

*  To  answer  the  question  whether  or  not  any  one  ever  succeeded  in 
making  gold  grow  in  this  manner,  we  will  say  that  there  is  a  German  book 
in  existence  entitled,  "  Collection  of  historical  accounts  regarding  some 
remarkable  occurrences  in  the  life  of  some  still  living  Adepts."  It  was 
printed  in  1780;  and  among  many  most  interesting  anecdotes  about 
successful  attempts  of  making  gold  grow,  there  are  copies  of  the  legal 
documents  and  decisions  of  the  court  at  Leipzig  in  regard  to  a  case 
where,  during  the  absence  of  the  Count  of  Erbach,  in  the  year  1715,  an 
Adept  visited  the  countess  in  the  castle  of  Tankerstein,  and  out  of  grati- 
tude for  an  important  service  which  had  been  rendered  to  him  by  the 
countess,  he  transformed  all  the  silver  she  had  into  gold .  When  the 
count  returned,  who,  as  it  seems,  kept  his  own  property  separate  from 
that  of  his  wife,  he  claimed  that  gold  for  himself,  appealing  to  a  certain 
statute  of  the  law,  according  to  which  treasures  discovered  upon  or  be- 
low the  surface  of  a  certain  piece  of  land  belong  to  the  proprietor  of 
that  territory  ;  but  the  court  decided  that  as  the  material  (the  silver)  out 
of  which  the  gold  had  been  made  belonged  legally  to  the  countess,  con- 
sequently this  gold  could  not  be  classified  as  a  hidden  treasure,  and  did 
not  come  within  the  reach  of  that  statute.  The  count  thereupon  lost 
his  case,  and  his  wife  was  permitted  to  keep  the  gold. 


2o6  NATURAL  LAW. 

will  must  be  in  harmony  with  wisdom,  while  wisdom  is 
acquired  in  no  other  way  but  by  obedience  to  the  law. 

He  who  obeys  the  laws  of  nature  and  acts  as  her  servant, 
becomes  the  master  of  nature  and  renders  her  obedient  to 
him.  He  who  obeys  the  divine  laws  of  God  and  is  a  true 
servant  of  God,  will  be  in  possession  of  divine  power,  and 
God  will  fulfil  his  desires. 

The  will  becomes  free  turough  knowledge.  Not  by 
means  of  what  is  usually  called  "  knowledge,"  and  which 
consists  in  opinions  formed  by  intellectual  speculation  and 
drawing  inferences,  but  by  means  of  the  knowledge  of  the 
soul ;  such  as  is  the  result  of  the  soul's  own  perception  and 
experience. 

Only  when  the  will  has  become  free,  will  it  be  able  to  act 
at  a  distance  and  to  perform  the  wonders  of  Magic  and 
Alchemy,  which  are  regarded  as  miracles  by  the  ignorant 
and  denied  by  the  foolish,  because  no  man  can  be  found 
who  is  able  to  perform  them ;  they  all  being  the  slaves  of 
worldly  desires. 

The  will  of  God  is  free  and  identical  with  the  law.  It  is 
not  influenced  by  any  selfish  desire  nor  by  exhortations  and 
prayers.  It  never  deprives  any  creature,  however  low  it 
may  be  in  the  scale  of  evolution,  of  any  of  its  rights,  or  gives 
them  to  another  ;  it  is  deaf  to  persuasions,  unaffected  by 
bombast  and  bragging,  and  can  neither  be  bribed  with 
money  nor  be  deluded  with  shows. 

If  the  actions  of  the  Universal  Mind  were  not  subject  to 
the  eternal  law  of  cause  and  effect,  but  guided  by  the 
arbitrary  whims  and  notions  of  some  invisible  power  or 
god  contained  therein,  the  most  extraordinary  results  were 
liable  to  follow,  and  the  age  of  actual  miracles  would  begin. 
The  earth  would  perhaps  stand  still  for  a  day  or  a  year 
and  begin  to  revolve  again  the  next;  sometimes  it  might 
turn  fast  and  at  other  times  slow,  and  there  is  no  end  to 
the  absurdities  which  might  take  place  ;  especially  if  this 
imaginary  power  could  be  induced  to  follow  the  advices  of 
its  worshippers. 

To  the  superficial  observer  the  processes  of  nature  seem 
to  be  the  results  of  chance.  The  sun  shines  and  the  rain 
falls  upon  the  land  of  the  pious  as  well  as  upon  that  of  the 
wicked ;  storms  and  fires  rage,  careless  whether  they 
destroy  the  life  and  property  of  the  learned  or  that  of  the 
ignorant,  because  they  are  the  necessary  results  of  the 


DIVINE  WISDOM.  207 

law  of  cause  and  effect.  The  interest  of  individuals  cannot 
control  the  welfare  of  the  whole.  While  the  welfare  of 
the  human  body  seems  to  be,  to  a  certain  extent,  under 
the  control  of  the  will  of  the  individual,  the  processes  of 
nature,  as  a  whole,  appear  to  be  unguided  by  the  reason 
of  the  Universal  Mind. 

Man's  reason  can  prevent  an  outburst  of  his  emotions  ; 
but  where  is  the  personal  god  to  control  the  emotions  of 
the  soul  of  the  world  ?  God  does  not  prevent  the  growth  of 
warts,  or  cancers,  or  tumors,  God  being  the  law  cannot  act  in 
contradiction  with  Himself.  His  blessingsare  accompanied 
by  curses.  Man's  foot  crushes  the  insect,  because  man's 
perception  and  intelligence  does  not  pervade  his  feet ;  God 
does  not  prevent  the  growth  of  a  stone  in  the  bladder, 
because  the  high  cannot  manifest  itself  in  the  low,  wisdom 
cannot  be  active  in  an  unconscious  form ;  the  means  must  be 
adapted  to  the  end.  The  music  that  can  be  made  with  a 
harp  cannot  be  made  with  a  stick.  The  intelligence  of 
the  Universal  Mind  can  only  manifest  itself  through 
instruments  adapted  for  intellectual  manifestation. 

Wisdom  is  not  a  product  of  the  organization  of  man. 
It  is  eternal  and  universal.  It  finds  its  expression  in  the 
fundamental  laws  upon  which  the  universe  with  all  its  forms 
is  constructed.  It  is  expressed  in  the  shape  of  a  leaf,  in 
the  body  of  an  animal,  in  the  organism  of  man.  Its  action 
can  be  found  everywhere  in  nature,  as  long  as  the  beings 
in  nature  live  according  to  nature.  There  are  no  diseases 
in  nature  which  have  not  been  originally  created  by 
powers  which  acted  contrary  to  the  laws  of  nature  and 
became  therefore  unnatural.  Outward  appearances  seem 
to  contradict  this  assertion ;  because  we  find  animals 
affected  with  diseases,  and  epidemic  diseases  are  even  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  the  vegetable  kingdom.  But  a 
deeper  investigation  into  the  occult  laws  of  nature  may 
show  that  all  the  forms  of  nature,  minerals,  vegetables,  and 
animals,  are  merely  states  or  expressions  of  the  states  of  the 
Universal  Mind — in  other  words — products  of  the  imagin- 
ation of  Nature  ;  and  as  the  imagination  of  Nature  is  acted 
on,  influenced  and  modified  by  the  imagination  of  man,  a 
morbid  imagination  of  man  is  followed  by  a  morbid  state  of 
the  Universal  Mind,  and  morbid  results  follow  again  on  the 
physical  plane.  This  law  explains  why  periods  of  great 
moral  depravity,  sensuality,  superstition,  and  materialism 


20*  SPIRITUAL  PROGRESS. 

may  be  followed  by  plagues,  epidemics,  famine,  wars,  etc., 
and  it  would  be  worth  the  while  to  collect  statistics  to 
show  that  such  has  invariably  been  the  case. 

The  elementary  forces  of  nature  are  blind  and  obey  the 
law  that  controls  them.  If  hailstones  were  wise,  they 
would  not  indiscriminately  destroy  the  crops  ;  if  the  sun 
were  a  vehicle  for  intellectual  labor,  he  might  perhaps  be 
persuaded  sometimes  to  change  the  directions  of  his  rays. 
Stones  have  no  intelligence,  because  they  have  no  organi- 
zation through  which  intelligence  can  act,  but  if  an 
intelligent  power  sets  them  into  motion,  they  obey  the  law 
by  which  their  movement  is  guided.  As  the  organisms 
rise  in  the  scale  of  evolution  and  development,  their  con- 
sciousness becomes  more  manifest.  Consciousness  be- 
comes manifest  as  instinct  in  the  animal  creation.  It 
teaches  the  bird  to  fly,  the  fish  to  swim,  the  ants  to  build 
their  houses,  the  swallows  to  make  their  nests.  Act- 
ing through  the  nerve  centres  and  the  spinal  cord  it 
induces  the  actions  of  the  heart  and  lungs  and  other 
organic  and  involuntary  actions  of  the  body. 

The  brain  is  the  most  highly  developed  instrument  for 
the  manifestation  of  mind.  It  performs  the  intellectual 
labor  of  the  organism,  acting  as  a  centre  of  attraction  for 
the  collection  of  ideas,  as  a  workshop  for  their  transforma- 
tion, and  as  a  focus  from  which  they  are  reflected  again 
into  the  Astral  Light.  But  with  the  power  of  performing 
intellectual  labor  the  highest  manifestation  of  God  in  man 
is  not  yet  obtained.  If  we  wish  to  know  the  wisdom  and 
majesty  of  God,  we  must  prepare  ourselves  to  become  fit 
receptacles  for  His  love. 

To  accomplish  this,  we  need  not  seek  to  acquire  any- 
thing by  our  own  power.  All  selfish  efforts  are  useless  for 
that  purpose.  All  we  need  is  to  throw  away  the  obstacles 
in  our  possession  that  hinder  us  from  seeing  the  light  of 
the  truth,  and  which  consist  of  our  own  selfish  thoughts 
and  desires.  If  man  accomplishes  this  herculean  task, 
then  will  the  door  to  the  mystery  be  open  before  him  ;  his 
mind  will  become  illuminated  with  wisdom,  and  in  his  own 
soul  he  will  behold  the  glory  of  his  Creator. 


V 


CHAPTER  X.* 

CREATION. 
<«  And  God  said  :  Let  us  make  Man."— BiHe. 

THE  most  important  question  that  was  ever  asked,  and  is 
still  asked  with  anxiety  and  often  with  fear,  is  the  same 
that  was  propounded  thousands  of  years  ago  by  the  Egyp- 
tian Sphinx,  who  killed  him  that  attempted  to  solve  the 
riddle  and  did  not  succeed  :  What  is  man  ?  Ages  have 
passed  away  since  the  question  was  first  asked,  nations 
have  slain  each  other  in  cruel  religious  warfare,  making 
vain  efforts  to  impose  upon  each  other  such  solution  of 
the  great  problem  as  they  believed  they  had  found,  but  from 
the  tombs  of  the  past  only  re-echoes  the  same  question — 
What  is  Man  ?  And  yet  the  answer  seems  simple. 
Common  sense,  if  divested  of  religious  or  scientific 
prejudices,  tells  us  that  man,  like  every  other  form  in  the 
universe,  is  a  collective  centre  of  energy,  a  solitary  ray  of 
the  universally  present  Divine  Light  which  is  the  common 
source  of  everything  that  exists  ;  he  is  a  true  child  of  the 
great  Spiritual  Sun.  As  the  rays  of  our  sun  only  become 

*  The  term  Creation  is  frequently  misunderstood.  Neither  the  Bible 
nor  any  other  reasonable  book  says  that  anything  had  ever  been  created 
out  of  nothing.  Such  a  superstition  belongs  entirely  to  modern  material- 
istic Science,  which  believes  that  life  and  consciousness  could  grow 
out  of  dead  and  unconscious  things.  The  word  "  Creation  "  means  the 
production  of  forms  ;  form  in  the  absolute  is  not  a  thing,  it  is  nothing 
but  an  illusion,  and,  therefore,  if  a  form  is  produced,  nothing  but  an 
illusion  has  been  created. 

209 


210  THE  MICROCOSM. 

visibly  active  in  contact  with  dust,  so  the  divine  ray  is 
absorbed  and  reflected  by  matter.  It  mingles  for  a  while 
with  matter,  and  draws  up  towards  the  sun  such  elements 
as  are  sufficiently  refined  to  escape  the  attraction  of 
Earth. 

The  sun-ray  plays  with  the  waves  of  the  ocean  :  the  heat 
created  by  the  contact  of  water  with  light  from  above 
extracts  from  below  the  refined  material,  and  the  vapors 
rise  to  the  sky,  where,  like  the  ghosts  of  the  seas,  they 
wander  in  clouds  of  manifold  shapes  traveling  freely  through 
the  air,  playing  with  the  winds,  until  the  time  arrives  when 
the  energies  which  keep  them  suspended  become  exhausted 
and  they  once  more  descend  to  earth.  In  a  similar 
manner  the  divine  ray  of  the  spiritual  sun  mingles  with 
matter  while  dwelling  on  Earth,  absorbing  and  assimilating 
whatever  he  chooses  or  what  corresponds  to  his  needs. 
As  the  butterfly  flits  from  flower  to  flower,  tasting  the 
sweets  of  each,  so  the  human  monad  passes  from  life  to 
life,  from  planet  to  planet,  gathering  experience,  knowledge, 
and  strength,  but  when  the  day  of  life  is  over,  night 
follows,  and  with  it  follows  sleep  bringing  dreams  of  vivid 
reality.  The  grossest  elements  remain  to  mingle  again 
with  earth,  the  more  refined  elements — the  astral  elements 
— which  are  still  within  the  attraction  of  the  planet  float 
about,  driven  hither  and  thither  by  their  inherent 
tendencies,  until  the  energy  which  holds  them  together  is 
exhausted,  and  they  dissolve  again  in  the  plane  to  which 
they  belong;  but  the  highest  spiritual  energies  of  man,  held 
together  by  love  freed  from  the  attraction  of  Earth,  ascend 
to  their  source  like  a  white-robed  spirit,  bringing  with  it 
the  products  of  its  experience  beyond  the  limits  of  matter. 
Man's  love  and  aspiration  do  not  belong  to  Earth.  They 
create  energies  which  are  active  beyond  the  confines  of 
the  grave  and  the  funeral-pyre  ;  their  activity  may  last  for 
ages,  until  it  becomes  exhausted,  and  the  purified  ray, 
endowed  with  the  tendencies  impressed  upon  it  by  its  last 
visit  to  the  planet,  again  seeks  association  with  matter, 
builds  again  its  prison-house  of  animated  clay,  and  appears 
an  old  actor  in  a  new  part  upon  the  ever-changing  stage 
of  life. 

Some  of  the  greatest  philosophers  have  arrived  at  a 
recognition  of  this  truth  by  speculation  and  logical  reason- 
ing, while  others  whose  minds  were  illuminated  by  wisdom, 


EXPERIENCE.  2 1 1 

have  perceived  it  as  a  self-evident  fact  by  the  power  of 
intuition. 

To  build  the  new  house  the  impressions  gathered  by  its 
previous  visits  furnish  the  material.  The  slothful  rich  man 
of  the  past  may  become  the  beggar  of  the  future,  and  the 
industrious  worker  in  the  present  life  may  develop  tenden- 
cies which  will  lay  the  foundation  of  greatness  in  the  next. 
Suffering  in  one  life  may  produce  patience  and  fortitude 
that  will  be  useful  in  another;  hardships  will  produce  en- 
durance ;  self-denial  will  strengthen  the  will ;  tastes  engen- 
dered in  one  life  may  be  our  guides  in  another  ;  and  accu- 
mulated energies  will  become  active  whenever  circum- 
stances require  it  during  an  existence  on  the  material 
plane  either  in  one  life  or  another,  according  to  the  eternal 
law  of  cause  and  effect. 

A  child  may  burn  its  ringers  by  touching  the  flame,  and 
the  adult  may  not  remember  all  the  circumstances  under 
which  the  accident  occurred ;  still  the  fact  that  fire  will 
burn  and  must  not  be  touched  will  remain  impressed  upon 
the  mind.  In  the  same  manner  the  experiences  gained  in 
one  life  may  not  be  remembered  in  their  details  in  the 
next,  but  the  impressions  which  they  produce  will  remain. 
Again  and  again  man  passes  through  the  wheel  of  trans- 
formation, changing  his  lower  energies  into  higher  ones, 
until  he  has  attained  knowledge  by  experience,  and  he 
becomes — what  he  is  destined  to  be — a  god. 

There  is  a  certain  stage  in  the  spiritual  evolution  of  man, 
when  he  will  become  self-conscious  in  the  spirit.  He  will 
then  remember  the  events  of  his  previous  life;  but  to 
remember  them  in  his  present  state  of  imperfection  would 
be  merely  a  hindrance  in  his  progress.  It  has  been  said, 
that  by  not  remembering  the  errors  of  our  past  lives  and 
their  evil  consequences,  man  is  liable  to  commit  his  pre- 
vious errors  again  ;  but  we  ought  not  to  do  good  merely 
as  a  matter  of  speculation  and  to  avoid  evil  consequences 
resulting  therefrom,  but  from  an  inherent  desire  to  do  good, 
regardless  of  what  the  resulting  consequences  may  be. 

Man,  like  the  majority  of  organized  beings,  is  an  atom 
in  the  immensity  of  the  universe ;  he  cannot  be  divided 
and  still  remain  a  man;  but  unlike  other  and  lower  organ- 
ized beings,  whose  realization  of  existence  is  confined  to 
the  physical  or  astral  plane,  that  which  constitutes  him  a 
Man  and  distinguishes  him  from  an  animal  is  an  integral 


212  EVOLUTION. 

and  conscious  part  of  the  highest  spiritual  energy  of  the 
universe,  which  is  everywhere  present;  and  his  spiritual 
consciousness  is,  therefore,  not  limited  to  a  certain  locality 
in  the  physical  world. 

Who  made  Man  ? — Man  makes  himself  during  every  day 
of  his  life.  He  is  his  own  creator.  The  clay — the  mate- 
rial body — that  clings  to  the  ray  of  the  manifested  Absolute, 
is  taken  from  Earth  ;  the  energies,  called  the  soul,  are  the 
products  of  the  astral  plane  ;  the  highest  energies,  called 
the  spirit,  belong  to  "  heaven."  Animal  man,  like  the 
lower  orders  of  nature,  is  a  product  of  the  blind  law  of 
necessity,  and  may  even  be  produced  artificially.*  As  such, 
his  mother  is  Nature,  the  ever  immaculate  virgin,  who 
presents  time-born  man  to  his  father,  the  infinite  spiritual 
principle,  to  be  transformed  into  a  god.  The  physical 
attributes  of  the  child  and  its  mental  qualifications  are 
the  result  of  inheritance  or  previously  existing  conditions. 
Like  the  tree  that  can  send  its  roots  into  the  neighboring 
soil  and  gather  the  nutriment  by  which  it  is  surrounded, 
but  cannot  roam  about  in  search  of  food  at  distant  places, 
so  physical  man  has  only  a  limited  choice  in  the  selection 
of  such  means  of  development  as  he  may  require;  he  grows, 
because  he  cannot  resist  the  law  of  necessity,  and  the  im- 
pulses given  by  nature.  But  as  reason  begins  to  enlighten 
him,  the  work  of  creation  begins.  The  intelligence 
within  says  to  the  will :  "  Let  us  make  man."  She  urges 
the  will,  and  the  will  sullenly  leaves  its  favorite  occupation 
of  serving  the  passions  and  begins  to  mould  animal  man 
in  accordance  with  the  divine  image  held  up  before  him  by 
wisdom. 

Let  us  make  Man  means :  Let  us  make  a  divine  man 
out  of  an  animal  man ;  let  us  surround  the  divine  ray 
within  us  with  the  purest  of  essences  gathered  from  the 
lower  planes  ;  let  us  throw  off  everything  which  is  sensual 
and  grossly  material,  and  which  hinders  our  progress ;  let 
us  transform  the  emotions  into  virtues  in  which  the  spirit- 
ual ray  may  clothe  itself  when  it  reascends  to  its  throne. 

Let  us  make  man  !  It  depends  entirely  on  our  efforts 
what  kind  of  a  man  we  shall  make.  To  make  an  average 
man  or  even  a  superior  one  in  the  common  acceptation  of 
the  term  is  not  a  very  difficult  matter.  Follow  the  rules 

*  See  Paracelsus.     "  Homunculi." 


SELF-MADE  MEN.  213 

of  health  and  the  laws  of  diet,  provide  above  all  for  your- 
self and  never  give  anything  away,  unless  by  doing  so  you 
are  sure  to  get  more  in  return.  You  will  then  make  a 
respectable  animal,  a  "  self-made  "  man,  prominent,  inde- 
pendent and  rich — one  who  lives  and  dies  on  the  plane 
of  selfishness,  an  object  of  envy  for  many  ;  respected 
perhaps  by  many,  but  not  by  himself. 

But  such  is  the  influence  of  the  higher  nature  in  man, 
that  even  on  that  plane  an  apparent  unselfishness  will  often 
bring  material  reward,  and  while  the  inexorable  miser  is 
despised  by  all,  he  who  occasionally  confers  little  favors 
makes  friends,  and  may  get  his  favors  returned  with 
interest. 

There  is  another  class  of  self-made  men ;  those  who 
appear  prominently  on  the  intellectual  plane.  They  stand 
before  the  world  as  the  world's  benefactors,  as  philoso- 
phers, teachers,  statesmen,  inventors,  or  artists.  They 
have  what  is  called  genius,  and  instead  of  being  mere  imi- 
tators, they  possess  originality.  They  benefit  themselves 
by  benefiting  the  world.  Intellectual  researches  that 
benefit  no  one  are  unproductive  ;  they  resemble  physical 
exercise  with  dumb-bells,  by  which  muscular  strength  may 
be  gained,  but  no  labor  accomplished.  An  intellectual  pur- 
suit may  be  followed  for  merely  selfish  purposes  ;  but  unless 
there  is  a  love  for  the  object  of  that  study,  little  progress 
will  be  made,  and  instead  of  a  sage,  a  bookworm  will  be 
the  result.  The  majority  of  the  learned  live  in  their  own 
darkness,  seeking  only  for  the  fruits  that  others  have 
gathered ;  but  true  genius  is  a  magician  who  creates  a 
world  for  himself  and  for  others,  and  his  light  expands  as 
he  grows  in  perfection. 

Intellectual  labor  alone  cannot  be  the  true  object  of  life  ; 
infinite  truth  cannot  be  grasped  by  the  material  brain.  He 
who  attempts  to  arrive  at  the  truth  merely  by  the  intellectual 
labors,  without  consulting  the  heart,  will  find  it  a  difficult 
work.  The  heart  is  the  seat  of  Wisdom,  the  brain  the  seat 
of  the  reasoning  intellect,  and  receives  its  life  from  the 
heart.  The  heart  and  the  head  should  work  together  in 
harmony,  to  kill  the  dragon  of  ignorance,  dwelling  upon 
the  threshold  of  the  temple. 

In  the  allegorical  books  of  the  Alchemist  the  Sun  repre- 
sents Love  ;  he  is  the  "  heart "  of  our  solar  system  •  the 
Moon  represents  the  Intellect  or  the  "  brain ;  "  Earth 


2J4  THE  TEMPLE. 

represents  the  physical  Body.  If  the  male  Sun  cohabits 
with  the  female  Moon  in  the  water  of  Truth,  they  will  pro- 
duce a  son  whose  name  is  Wisdom.  The  intellect  is  the 
material  man  whose  bride  is  Intuition,  the  divine  woman  ; 
no  man  or  woman  is  perfect  as  long  as  the  celestial  mar- 
riage has  not  taken  place  through  the  power  of  Love.* 

Man  is  not  merely  an  intellectual  workshop  ;  but  a  tem- 
ple wherein  resides  the  spirit  of  God.  The  materials  ot 
which  Man  is  constructed  are  the  seven  principles  that 
flow  into  him  from  the  store-house  of  universal  nature, 
the  builder  is  the  will,  reason  the  superintendent,  and  wis- 
dom the  supreme  architect.  The  building  goes  on  without 
noise,  and  no  sound  of  the  hammer  is  heard,  because  the 
materials  are  already  prepared  by  nature ;  they  only 
require  to  be  put  into  their  proper  places.  The  highest  is 
the  Spirit,  and  Spirit  alone  is  immortal.  Such  of  the  lower 
elements  as  may  harmonize  with  it  amalgamate  with  the 
spirit,  and  are  rendered  immortal.  Pure  spirit  can  only 
find  its  corresponding  vibrations  in  the  highest  spiritual 
elements,  such  as  are  furnished  by  the  higher  principles, 
and  consist  of  the  purest  thoughts,  aspirations,  and  mem- 
ories produced  by  the  fifth,  in  which  resides  the  intel- 
lectual power  of  man.  Pure  intelligence  is  Spirituality, 
but  intellectual  power  laboring  only  in  the  lower  planes  of 
thought  can  bring  to  light  no  spiritual  treasures,  unless  it 
is  penetrated  by  the  light  of  Wisdom,  which  enables  it  to 
distinguish  the  pure  metal  from  the  material  dross.  A 
very  intellectual  and  learned  person  may  be  very  unhappy 
and  unharmonious,  if  his  tendencies  are  towards  evil,  and 
his  mind  incapable  to  be  illuminated  by  the  light  of  truth. 
Wisdom  is  the  perfect  recognition  of  the  truth  ;  it  resides 
in  the  spiritual  principle  of  man,  and  sends  its  light  down 
into  his  fifth  principle,  where  it  may  be  seen  by  the  power 
of  intuition,  shining  through  the  clouds  of  matter  like  the 
sunlight  penetrating  a  fog. 

The  fifth  principle  receives  its  stimulus  from  the  fourth, 
the  rational  nature  of  man.  We  cannot  build  a  house 
without  solid  material,  and  we  may  just  as  well  attempt  to 
run  a  steam-engine  without  fuel  or  water  as  to  make  a 
genius  out  of  a  being  without  any  emotions  or  intellect. 
The  stronger  the  emotions  are,  the  more  enduring  will 

*  "  The  Perfect  Way,  or  the  Finding  of  Christ." 


THE  BUILDERS.  215 

be  the  spiritual  temple,  if  they  can  be  made  to  fit  into  the 
walls  and  pillars.  A  person  without  any  emotions  is  with- 
out virtues,  he  is  without  energy,  a  shadow,  neither  cold 
nor  warm,  and  necessarily  useless.  The  passionate  man  is 
nearer  to  the  spirit,  if  he  can  guide  his  passions  in  the  right 
direction  towards  the  source  of  all  good,  than  the  man  who 
has  nothing  to  guide  and  nothing  to  conquer. 

To  produce  a  perfect  building,  or  a  perfect  man,  the 
proportions  must  be  harmonious.  Wisdom  guides  the  work 
and  love  furnishes  the  cement.  An  emotion  is  either  a 
virtue  or  a  vice  according  to  the  manner  in  which  it  is 
applied.  Misapplied  virtues  become  vices,  and  well- 
directed  vices  are  virtues.  A  man  who  acts  according  to 
the  dictates  of  prudence  alone  is  a  coward ;  one  who 
indiscriminately  exercises  his  generosity  is  a  spendthrift ; 
courage  without  caution  is  rashness ;  veneration  without 
knowledge  produces  superstition  ;  charity  without  judgment 
makes  a  beggar,  and  even  one-sided  justice,  if  too  stern 
and  unbending  and  untempered  by  mercy,  produces  a 
miserly,  cruel,  and  despicable  tyrant. 

The  irrational  soul,  impelled  only  by  its  desires  and  un- 
guided  by  wisdom,  resembles  a  drunken  man  who  has  lost 
his  physical  balance  ;  it  totters  from  side  to  side,  falls  from 
one  extreme  into  another,  and  cannot  guide  its  steps. 
Only  an  equilibrium  of  forces  can  produce  harmony,  beauty 
and  perfection.  The  irrational  soul,  swayed  by  uncontrol- 
lable emotions,  forms  an  unfit  habitation  for  the  divine  ray, 
that  loves  peace  and  tranquillity. 

The  control  of  the  emotions  is  the  difficult  struggle,  that 
is  allegorically  represented  by  the  twelve  labors  of  Hercules, 
which  the  oracle  of  Zeus  commanded  him  to  perform. 
Every  man  who  desires  to  progress  is  his  own  Hercules 
and  works  for  the  benefit  of  the  king  (his  Atma),  whose 
orders  he  receives  through  the  divine  oracle  of  his  own 
intuition.  He  is  constantly  engaged  in  battle,  because  the 
lower  principles  fight  for  their  lives  and  will  neither  be 
conquered.  They  are  the  products  of  matter  and  they  cling 
to  their  source. 

Whence  do  the  emotions  come  ? 

The  cosmologies  of  the  ancients  express  under  various 
allegories  the  same  fundamental  truth  ;  that  "  in  the  begin- 
ning "  the  Great  First  Cause  evolved  out  of  itself,  by  the 
power  of  its  own  will,  certain  powers,  whose  action  and 


216  MYTHOLOGY. 

reaction  brought  the  elementary  forces  that  constituted  the 
world  into  existence.  These  elementary  forces  are  the 
Devas  of  the  East,  the  Elohims  of  the  Bible,  the  Afrites  of 
the  Persians,  the  Titans  of  the  Romans,  the  Eggregores  of 
the  book  of  Enoch.  They  are  the  active  agents  of  the 
cosmos,  beneficial  or  detrimental  according  to  the  condi- 
tions under  which  they  act,  intelligent  or  unintelligent 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  instrument  through  which 
they  act.  They  are  not  self-conscious  rational  entities,  but 
may  manifest  themselves  through  self-conscious  organisms 
endowed  with  reason  ;  they  are  not  individuals,  but  may 
become  individualized  by  finding  expression  in  individual 
forms.  Love  and  hate,  envy  and  benevolence,  lust  and 
greed  are  not  persons,  but  their  shadows  may  become  per- 
sonified in  human  or  animal  forms.  An  extremely  malicious 
person  is  the  embodiment  of  malice,  and  if  he  sees  the 
demon  in  an  objective  form,  he  beholds  the  reflection  of 
his  own  soul  in  the  mirror  of  his  mind.  Ideas  exist  every- 
where, but  we  cannot  perceive  a  thought  unless  it  first 
enters  the  sphere  of  our  soul.  The  spirit  that  enters  our 
soul  obtains  his  life  from  ourselves,  and  if  we  do  not  expel 
it  from  our  soul  he  may  grow  strong  by  vampirizing  our 
life.  Like  a  parasite  growing  on  a  tree  and  feeding  on  its 
substance,  it  may  fasten  its  feelers  around  the  tree  of  our 
life,  and  grow  strong  while  our  own  spirit  grows  weak.  A 
thought,  once  taking  root  in  the  soul,  will  grow,  unless  it 
is  expelled  by  force,  until  it  will  become  expressed  in  an 
act,  when  obtaining  a  life  of  its  own  by  that  act,  it  will 
leave  its  place  to  a  successor.  Those  elementary  forces 
of  nature  are  everywhere,  and  always  ready  to  enter  the 
soul  if  its  doors  are  not  defended.  To  call  up  a  wicked 
spirit  we  need  not  go  in  search  of  him,  we  need  only  allow 
him  to  come.  To  call  up  a  devil  means  to  give  way  to  an 
evil  thought,  to  vanquish  him  means  to  resist  successfully 
a  temptation  to  evil. 

The  elementary  powers  of  nature  are  innumerable,  and 
their  classification  gave  rise  to  the  pantheons  of  the  Greeks 
and  to  the  mythologies  of  the  East.  The  greatest  power 
is  Zeus,  the  father  of  the  gods,  or  the  source  from  which  all 
other  powers  take  their  origin.  Minerva,  the  goddess  of 
wisdom,  springs  from  his  head,  her  origin  is  the  noblest  of 
all,  but  Venus,  the  daughter  of  the  Sun,  arising  from  the 
ocean  of  the  universal  Soul,  conquers  all  by  her  beauty. 


PANTHEON.  217 

She  holds  together  the  worlds  in  space  by  the  power  of  her 
attraction,  binds  souls  to  souls,  chains  the  good  to  good, 
and  binds  the  evil  to  evil.  She  is  the  mother  of  the  minor 
gods  that  combat  each  other,  because  love  of  self,  love  of 
possession,  love  of  fame,  love  of  power,  etc.,  are  all  only 
children  of  the  universal  power  of  love.  They  fight  among 
themselves  like  children,  because  action  gives  rise  to  reac- 
tion, love  is  opposed  by  hate,  hope  by  fear,  faith  by  doubt, 
etc.  To  control  them  the  god  of  Power  (Mars)  must  be 
united  with  the  goddess  of  Love — in  other  words,  the 
passions  must  be  held  in  obedience  by  the  Will. 

Each  power  exists  and  is  held  in  its  elementary  matrix 
or  vehicle,  the  A'kasa,  the  Universal  Proteus,  the  generator 
of  form,  which  finds  its  outward  expression  in  Matter. 
They  are  all  brought  into  life  by  desire  for  existence. 
This  ever-turning  wheel  of  desire  is  the  eternal  circle  of 
evolution  and  involution,  or  the  snake,  "  whose  head  shall 
be  crushed  by  the  heel  of  the  woman,"  meaning  Wisdom, 
the  eternal  virgin,  whose  " daughters"  are  faith,  hope 
and  charity. 

The  snake  of  evil  cannot  enter  the  soul,  if  the  latter  is 
defended  by  wisdom.  If  an  evil  thought  enters  the  soul 
and  we  do  not  immediately  reject  it,  we  harbor  a  devil  in 
our  heart,  whose  claims  we  take  into  consideration,  we 
give  him  a  promise  and  induce  him  to  remain,  and  like  an 
unwelcome  creditor  he  will  continually  argue  his  claims 
until  they  are  fulfilled. 

The  lower  triads  of  principles  in  the  constitution  of  man 
receive  their  nutriment  from  the  inferior  kingdoms  of  nature. 
If  the  body  is  overfed  or  stimulated  by  drink,  the  emotional 
element  will  become  excessively  active  and  the  intellect 
will  become  weak.  Too  stimulating  food  or  drink  is 
injurious  for  higher  development,  because  life  will  in  such 
cases  -withdraw  its  activity  from  the  higher  principles  and 
be  made  to  work  in  the  lower  principles  of  man.  Large 
quantities  of  otherwise  healthy  food  will  be  injurious  for  the 
same  reason.  The  principle  of  life  which  transforms  the 
lower  energies  into  higher  ones  is  the  same  principle  which 
causes  the  digestion  of  food.  If  it  is  squandered  in  the 
lower  organs,  the  higher  organs  will  suffer.  Some  men  are 
habituated  to  meat-eating,  and  they  require  ;t ;  others  are 
used  to  alcohol,  and  if  they  would  suddenly  discontinue  its 
use  they  will  suffer ;  but  meat  and  alcohol  are,  under  nor- 


218  NUTRIMENT. 

mal  conditions,  unnecessary  for  the  human  system,  and 
often  they  act  positively  injurious. 

A  pure  person  requires  pure  food,  but  to  the  impure 
impurities  become  at  first  a  luxury,  and  afterwards  a  neces- 
sity. "  God  said  :  Behold,  I  have  given  you  every  herb, 
bearing  seed,  which  is  upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth,  and 
every  tree,  in  which  h  the  fruit  of  a  tree  yielding  seed,  to 
you  it  shall  be  for  meat."  * 

The  principal  argument  of  the  lovers  of  animal  food  is 
that  it  "  gives  bodily  strength,  and  is  necessary  for  those 
who  have  to  perform  manual  labor."  This  argument  is 
based  upon  an  erroneous  opinion,  because  animal  food 
does  not  give  as  much  strength  as  a  vegetable  diet ;  f  it 
only  stimulates  the  organism,  and  induces  it  to  use  up  the 
strength  which  it  already  possesses  in  a  short  period  of 
time  instead  of  saving  it  up  for  the  future.  The  conse- 
quences of  an  exclusive  animal  diet  are  gluttony,  extreme 
sensuality,  combativeness,  cruelty ;  and  stupidity,  indo- 
lence, physical  and  psychical  apathy,  are  the  necessary  con- 
sequences of  over-stimulation. 

Darwin  says  that  "  the  hardest-working  people  he  ever 
met  are  the  persons  that  work  in  the  mines  of  Chili,  and 
that  they  are  living  on  an  exclusively  vegetable  diet." 
The  country  people  in  Ireland  live  almost  without  meat- 
eating,  and  yet  they  are  strong  and  enduring.  The  common 
Russian  eats  very  little  meat  and  enjoys  good  health.  The 
strongest  people  that  can  perhaps  be  found  anywhere  are 
the  country  people  in  the  South  of  Bavaria,  and  they  eat 
meat  only  on  exceptional  occasions  and  holy-days. 
Horses,  bulls,  elephants  are  the  strongest  animals,  and 
live  on  vegetable  food,  while  the  prominent  traits  of 
character  of  the  flesh-eating  animals  are  cowardice,  irrita- 
bility and  cunning.  A  bear  kept  at  the  Anatomical 
Museum  at  Giessen  showed  a  quiet,  gentle  nature  as  long 
as  he  was  fed  on  bread,  but  a  few  days'  feeding  on  meat 
made  him,  not  stronger,  but  vicious  and  dangerous. 

Each  animal  form  is  an  expression  of  that  animal's 
character,  and  he  who  takes  it  up  in  his  system  receives  a 

*  Genesis  i.  29. 

t  According  to  the  calculations  made  by  Prof.  J.  v.  Liebig,  the 
same  amount  of  albuminous  substances  for  which,  if  in  the  form  of  animal 
food,  is  paid  iood.,  can  be  bought  in  the  shape  of  peas  for  9d.,  and  in 
that  of  wheat  for  4d. 


ALCOHOL.  219 

part  of  that  character  in  his  own  constitution.  If  men 
were  to  live  on  the  meats  of  tigers  and  cats,  wolves  and 
hyenas  and  birds  of  prey,  the  effect  would  soon  be  seen 
in  a  state  of  greater  demoralization. 

Let  those  who  desire  to  know  the  truth  in  regard  to 
meat  eating  seek  the  answers  to  their  questions  not  with 
the  intellect  of  the  head,  but  through  the  voice  of  wisdom 
speaking  in  the  interior  of  their  heart,  and  they  will  not  be 
mistaken.* 

Another  question  arises  in  regard  to  the  eating  of  flesh ; 
it  is  the  question  whether  or  not  man  has  a  right  to  kill 
animals  for  his  food.  To  the  professed  Christians  who 
claim  to  believe  in  the  Bible  there  seems  to  be  no  cause 
for  any  doubt,  because  the  command  is  plain  :  "  Thou  shalt 
not  kill"  And  yet  this  command  is  disregarded  daily  by 
millions  of  professed  "  Christians/'  who  base  their  illusory 
right  to  kill  animals  upon  a  misunderstood  verse  of  their 
Bible.  If  it  is  said  that  God  permitted  man  to  "  have 
dominion  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowls  of 
the  air,  and  over  the  cattle,  and  over  every  living  thing 
that  moveth  upon  the  earth,"  f  we  should  know  that  by 
the  terms  "fish,"  and  "fowl,"  and  "cattle,"  etc.,  are 
meant  the  elementary  forces  in  him,  which  find  their 
objective  representations  in  the  animal  kingdom,  and  that 
it  is  nowhere  said  that  man  is  permitted  to  take  away  a 
life  which  he  is  not  able  to  give.  Man's  prerogative  is  to 
appease  suffering,  not  to  cause  it ;  not  to  interrupt  the 
work  of  evolution,  but  to  assist  it.  Christianity  and 
Murder  are  incompatible  terms. 

Meat  is  stimulating,  and  stimulating  food  creates  a  desire 
for  stimulating  drink.  The  best  cure  for  the  desire  for 
alcoholic  drink  is  to  avoid  the  eating  of  meat.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  there  is  any  passion  in  the  world  more 
devilish  and  more  detrimental  to  the  true  interests  of 
humanity  and  of  individual  happiness  than  the  love  of 
Alcohol.  As  meat-eating  endows  man  with  illusory 
strength,  that  soon  fades  away,  leaving  its  possessor 
weaker  than  he  was  before ;  likewise  stimulating  drinks 
lull  him  into  an  illusory  happiness,  which  soon  disappears, 
and  is  followed  by  lasting  and  real  misery,  causing  suffering 
to  himself  and  to  others.  It  causes  a  long  list  of  diseases 


*  See  Dr.  A.  Kingsford :  The  Perfect  Way  in  Diet." 
t  Genesis  i.  26. 


220  RELATIVE  UTILITY. 

of  the  internal  organs,  and  leads  to  premature  death  ;  it  is 
the  cause  of  by  far  the  great  majority  of  all  crimes 
committed  in  civilized  countries.  To  those  who  look 
upon  man  as  a  rational  being,  it  seems  incomprehensible 
why  civilized  nations  will  suffer  an  evil  in  their  midst  that 
fills  their  jails,  hospitals,  lunatic  asylums,  and  graveyards, 
and  why  men  will  "  put  an  enemy  in  their  mouths  "  that 
destroys  their  health,  their  reason,  and  their  life ;  but 
those  who  look  deeper  see  that  the  dawn  of  reason  has 
only  begun,  and  that  the  spiritual  faculties  of  the  majority 
of  men  still  sleep  in  the  icy  embrace  of  ignorance  and 
illusion.  Reforms  are  necessary,  but  they  cannot  be 
inaugurated  by  force.  * 

The  body  politic  resembles  the  individual  body.  It  is 
of  no  use  to  destroy  the  means  to  gratify  a  desire  as  long 
as  the  desire  itself  is  suffered  to  exist.  The  evils  that 
affect  mankind  are  the  outcome  of  their  desires  for  such 
evils.  Means  to  gratify  evil  desires  will  exist  as  long  as 
they  are  patronized,  and  if  they  are  abolished  other  means 
will  be  found.  Weeds  are  not  destroyed  by  cutting  their 
leaves,  if  the  roots  are  allowed  to  remain. 

To  eat  and  drink  and  sleep  for  the  purpose  of  living,  and 
not  to  live  for  the  purpose  of  eating,  drinking,  and  sleeping 
is  a  maxim  which  is  often  heard,  but  which  is  not  fre- 
quently carried  out.  A  great  deal  of  nutriment  daily 
taken  by  men  serves  no  other  purpose  than  to  comply 
with  habit,  and  to  gratify  an  artificially  created  desire. 
The  more  a  man  is  gross  and  material,  the  greater  is  the 
quantity  of  food  he  desires  ;  and  the  more  food  he  takes, 
the  more  gross  and  material  will  he  become.  Noble  and 
refined  natures  require  little  nutriment ;  ethereal  beings 
and  "  Spiritual "  entities  require  no  material  food. 

The  means  should  always  be  adapted  to  the  end  in  view. 
If  the  end  is  low  and  vulgar,  low  and  vulgar  means  will 
be  needed  ;  if  it  is  noble  and  high,  equally  high  and  noble 
means  are  required.  A  prizefighter,  whose  main  object  is 
to  develop  muscle,  will  require  a  different  training  from 
that  of  one  who  desires  to  develop  the  faculty  to  perceive 
spiritual  truths.  Conditions  that  may  be  suitable  for  the 
development  of  one  person  may  be  impraticable  for 
another.  One  man  may  develop  faster  through  poverty, 

*  See  Dr.  A.  Kingsford  :  «  The  Alcoholic  Controversy. 


PRACTICAL  OCCULTISM.  221 

another  through  wealth  ;  one  man  may  need  as  his  initial 
psychic  stimulus  the  gentle  and  exalting  influences  of 
married  life,  while  another  one's  aspirations  may  rise 
higher  if  independent  of  earthly  ties.  Each  man  who 
exercises  his  will  for  the  purpose  of  his  higher  develop- 
ment is,  to  the  extent  he  exercises  it,  a  practical  occultist. 
Every  one  grows  necessarily  in  one  direction  or  in  another ; 
none  remain  stationary.  Those  who  desire  to  outstrip 
others  in  growth  must  act. 

One  of  the  Tibetan  Mahatmas  says  in  a  letter  : 

"  Man  is  made  up  of  ideas,  and  ideas  gujde  his  life. 
The  world  of  subjectivity  is  the  only  reality  to  him  even 
on  this  physical  plane.  To  the  occultist  it  grows  more 
real  as  it  goes  further  and  further  from  illusory  earthly 
objectivity,  and  its  ultimate  reality  is  Parabrahm.  Hence 
an  aspirant  for  occult  knowledge  should  begin  to  con- 
centrate all  his  desires  on  the  highest  ideal,  that  of 
absolute  self-sacrifice,  philanthropy,  divine  kindness,  as  of 
all  the  highest  virtues  obtainable  on  this  Earth,  and  work 
up  to  it  incessantly.  The  more  strenuous  his  efforts  to 
rise  up  to  that  ideal,  the  oftener  is  his  will-power  exercised 
and  the  stronger  it  becomes.  When  it  is  thus  strengthened, 
it  sets  up  a  tendency,  in  the  gross  shell  of  Stula-sharira, 
to  do  such  acts  as  are  compatible  with  the  highest  ideal 
he  has  to  work  up  to,  and  his  acts  intensify  his  will-power 
doubly,  owing  to  the  operation  of  the  well-known  law  of 
action  and  reaction.  Hence  in  occultism  great  stress  is 
laid  on  practical  results. 

Now  the  question  is  :  What  are  these  practical  results, 
and  how  are  they  to  be  produced  ?  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  derived  from  observation  and  experience  that  progress 
is  the  law  of  nature.  The  acceptance  of  this  truth  suggests 
the  idea  that  humanity  is  in  its  lower  stages  of  develop- 
ment, and  is  progressing  towards  the  state  of  perfection. 
It  will  approach  the  final  goal  when  it  develops  new 
sensibilities  and  a  clear  relation  with  nature.  From  this 
it  is  obvious  that  a  final  state  of  perception  will  be  arrived 
at  when  the  energy  that  animates  man  co-operates  with 
the  One  Life  operating  in  the  Cosmos  in  achieving  this 
mighty  object ;  and  knowledge  is  the  most  powerful 
means  to  that  end. 

Thus  it  will  be  clear  that  the  ultimate  object  of  nature 
is  to  make  man  perfect  through  the  union  of  the  human 


222  FA ITH  A ND  DOUBT. 

spirit  with  the  One  Life.  Having  this  final  goal  before 
our  mind,  an  intellectual  brotherhood  should  be  formed  by 
uniting  all  together,  and  this  is  the  only  stepping-stone 
towards  the  final  goal.  To  produce  this  practical  result, 
union,  we  must  hold  up  the  highest  ideal,  which  forms  the 
real  man,  and  induce  others  to  look  up  to  it.  To  lead 
our  neighbors  and  fellow-creatures  to  this  right  path,  the 
best  means  should  be  pursued  with  self-sacrificing  habits. 
When  our  energy  as  a  collective  whole  is  thus  expended, 
in  working  up  to  the  highest  ideal,  it  becomes  potent,  and 
the  grandest  results  are  produced  on  the  spiritual  plane. 
As  this  is  the  most  important  work  in  which  every  occul- 
tist should  be  engaged,  an  aspirant  for  higher  knowledge 
should  spare  no  efforts  to  bring  about  this  end.  With  the 
progressive  tide  of  evolution  of  the  body  as  a  whole,  the 
mental  and  the  spiritual  faculties  of  humanity  expand.  To 
help  this  tide  on,  a  knowledge  of  philosophical  truths 
should  be  spread.  This  is  what  is  expected  from  an 
aspirant  for  occult  knowledge,  and  what  he  should  do." 

The  will  is  developed  through  action  and  strengthened 
by  faith.  The  movements  of  the  body,  such  as  walking, 
are  only  successfully  performed  by  a  person  because  he 
has  a  full  and  unwavering  faith  in  his  power  to  perform 
them.  Fear  and  Doubt  paralyze  the  will  and  produce  im- 
potency ;  but  hope  and  faith  produce  marvelous  results. 
The  lawyer  or  physician  who  has  no  faith  in  his  own  ability 
will  make  blunders,  and  if  his  clients  or  patients  share  his 
doubts,  his  usefulness  will  be  seriously  impaired ;  whereas 
even  the  ignorant  fanatic  or  quack  may  succeed,  if  he  has 
faith  in  himself. 

Bulwer  Lytton  says  :  "  The  victims  of  the  ghostly  one 
are  those  that  would  aspire  and  can  only  fear."  Fear  and 
Doubt  are  the  hell-born  daughters  of  ignorance  that  drag 
man  down  to  perdition  ;  while  Faith  is  the  white-robed 
angel  that  lends  him  her  wings  and  endows  him  with 
power.  "Samsayatma  Vinasyati  "  (the  doubter  perishes), 
said  Krishna  to  Arjuna,  his  favorite  disciple. 

Even  blind  faith  without  knowledge  may  be  more  use- 
ful than  imperfect  knowledge  without  faith,  and  conse- 
quently without  action.  Strong  faith,  even  if  resting  upon 
an  erroneous  conception,  may  act  powerfully  in  producing 
results  ;  faith  produces  an  exalted  state  of  the  imagination, 
which  strengthens  the  will,  banishes  pain,  cures  disease, 
leads  to  heroism,  and  transforms  hell  into  heaven. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  WILL  POWER.  223 

The  only  way  to  develop  will-power  is  to  act.  Each  act 
creates  a  new  impulse,  which,  added  to  the  already  exist- 
ing energy,  increases  its  strength.  Good  acts  increase  the 
power  for  good ;  evil  acts,  the  power  for  evil ;  but  those 
whose  actions  are  neither  good  nor  evil  acquire  no  power 
for  either.  A  person  who  acts  only  from  impulse  mani- 
fests no  will,  and  if  he  obeys  his  lower  impulses  he  pas- 
sively develops  into  a  criminal  or  a  maniac.  The  most 
horrible  crimes  are  often  committed  without  any  propor- 
tionate provocation,  because  the  perpetrators  had  not  the 
power  to  resist  the  impulses  that  prompted  them  to  such 
acts.  Such  persons  are  not  wicked ;  they  are  weak  and 
almost  irresponsible  beings ;  they  are  the  servants  of  the 
impulses  that  control  them,  and  they  can  be  made  the 
helpless  instruments  and  victims  of  those  who  know  how 
to  call  forth  their  emotions  :  they  are  like  the  soldiers  of 
two  opposing  armies,  who  are  not  necessarily  personal 
enemies  ;  but  are  made  to  hate  and  kill  each  other  by 
appeals  to  their  passions.  The  oftener  such  persons  give 
way  to  impulses,  the  more  is  their  power  of  resistance 
diminished,  and  their  own  impotency  is  their  ruin.  It  is 
of  little  use  to  be  merely  passively  good,  if  abstinence  from 
wrong-doing  may  be  so  called.  A  person  who  does  neither 
good  nor  evil  accomplishes  nothing.  A  stone,  an  animal, 
an  imbecile,  may  be  considered  good,  because  they  do  no 
active  evil ;  a  person  may  live  a  hundred  years,  and  at  the 
end  of  his  life  he  may  not  have  been  more  useful  than  a 
stone.* 

There  is  nothing  in  nature  which  has  not  a  threefold 
aspect  and  a  threefold  activity.  The  Will-power  forms 
no  exception  to  this  rule.  In  its  lowest  aspect  the  Will  is 
that  power  which  induces  the  voluntary  and  involuntary 
functions  of  the  physical  organism;  its  centre  of  activity  is 
the  spinal  cord.  In  its  higher  aspect  it  is  the  power  which 
induces  psychic  activity ;  it  is  diffused  through  the  blood 
which  comes  from  the  heart  and  returns  to  it,  and  its 
actions  are  governed,  or  can  be  governed,  by  intellect 
acting  in  the  brain  by  means  of  the  impulses,  influences, 
and  auras  radiating  from  there.  In  its  highest  aspect  the 
Will  is  a  living  and  conscious  power  having  its  centre  in 

=*  "  He  who  is  neither  hot  nor  cold,  but  lukewarm,  will  be  spued  out 
by  nature."— -Bible. 


224  OBEDIENCE. 

the  heart ;  but  this  kind  of  Will  is  known  only  to  those 
who  are  illuminated  by  divine  Wisdom. 

The  will,  to  become  powerful,  must  be  free,  which  means 
that  it  must  be  obedient  to  universal  law,  to  become  free 
of  the  bonds  of  self.  If  we  desire  an  object,  we  do  not 
necessarily  attract  that  object,  but  the  object  attracts  us. 
Eliphas  Levi  says  :  "  The  will  accomplishes  everything 
which  it  does  not  desire ; "  and  the  truth  of  this  paradox 
is  seen  in  everyday  life.  Those  who  crave  for  fame  or 
riches  or  love  are  frequently  disappointed  ;  the  rich  miser 
is  poorer  than  the  beggar  in  the  street,  and  happiness  is  a 
shadow  that  flies  before  him  who  seeks  it  in  material 
pleasures.  The  surest  way  to  become  rich  is  by  being  con- 
tented with  what  we  have  \  the  safest  way  to  obtain  power 
is  to  sacrifice  ourselves  for  others ;  and  if  we  desire 
love,  we  must  distribute  the  love  we  possess  to  others,  and 
then  the  love  of  others  will  descend  upon  us  like  the  rain 
descends  upon  the  earth. 

The  development  of  the  Will  is  a  process  of  growth,  and 
the  only  true  way  to  develop  the  Will  is  by  being  obedient 
to  the  universal  Law.  Then  will  we  become  masters  of 
our  Will,  and  our  Will  will  become  a  serviceable  instru- 
ment in  our  hands  ;  but  as  long  as  the  Will  is  governed  by 
personal  desire,  it  is  not  we  who  control  our  will,  but  it  is 
our  desire.  As  long  as  we  do  the  will  of  the  lower 
animal  I,  we  cannot  be  gods ;  only  when  we  perform  the 
will  of  the  Divinity,  within  ourselves,  we  will  become  free 
of  the  bondage  of  the  animal  elements,  and  be  our  own 
masters. 

-  Man  in  his  youth  longs  for  the  material  pleasures  of 
earth,  for  the  gratification  of  his  physical  body.  As  he 
advances,  he  throws  away  the  playthings  of  his  childhood 
and  reaches  out  for  something  higher.  He  enters  perhaps 
into  merely  intellectual  pursuits,  and  after  years  of  labor  he 
may  find  that  he  has  been  wasting  his  time  by  running 
after  a  shadow.  Perhaps  love  steps  in  and  he  may  think 
himself  the  most  fortunate  of  mortals,  only  to  find  out, 
sooner  or  later,  that  ideals  can  only  be  found  in  the  ideal 
world.  He  may  become  convinced  of  the  emptiness  of 
the  shadows  he  has  been  pursuing,  and,  like  the  winged 
butterfly  emerging  from  the  chrysalis,  he  stretches  out  his 
feelers  into  the  realm  of  infinite  spirit,  and  is  astonished 
to  find  a  radiant  sun  where  he  only  expected  to  find  dark- 


SPECCULATING  GODS.  225 

ness  and  death.  Some  arrive  at  this  light  sooner ;  others 
arrive  later,  and  many  are  lured  away  by  some  illusive  light 
and  perish,  and,  like  insects  that  mistake  the  flame  of  a 
candle  for  the  light  of  the  sun,  scorch  their  wings  in  its 
fire. 

Life  is  a  continual  battle  between  error  and  truth; 
between  man's  spiritual  aspirations  and  the  demands  of  his 
animal  instincts.  There  are  two  gigantic  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  progress :  his  misconception  of  God  and  his  mis- 
conception of  Man.  As  long  as  man  believes  in  a  whim- 
sical reasoning  God  who  distributes  favors  to  some  and 
punishes  others  at  pleasure,  a  God  that  can  be  reasoned 
with,  persuaded  and  pacified  by  ignorant,  man,  he  will  keep 
himself  within  the  narrow  confines  of  his  ignorance,  and 
his  mind  cannot  sufficiently  expand.  To  think  of  some 
place  of  personal  enjoyment  or  heaven,  does  not  assist 
man's  progression.  If  such  a  person  desists  from  doing  a 
wicked  act,  or  denies  himself  a  material  pleasure,  he  does 
not  do  so  from  any  innate  love  of  good ;  but  either  because 
he  expects  a  reward  from  God  for  his  "  sacrifice,"  or 
because  his  fear  of  God  makes  him  a  coward.  We  must 
do  good,  not  on  account  of  any  personal  consideration, 
but  because  to  do  good  is  best.  To  be  good  is  to  be  wise ; 
the  fool  expects  undeserved  rewards;  the  wise  expects 
nothing  but  justice.  The  wise  knows  that  by  benefiting 
the  world  he  benefits  himself,  and  that  by  injuring  others 
he  becomes  his  own  executioner. 

What  are  the  powers  of  Man,  by  which  he  may  benefit 
the  world?  Man  as  a  created  being  has  no  powers 
belonging  to  him.  Even  the  substance  of  which  his 
organization  is  made  up,  does  not  belong  but  is  only  lent 
to  him  by  Nature,  and  he  must  soon  return  it  to  her.  He 
cannot  make  any  use  of  it,  except  through  that  universal 
power,  which  is  active  within  his  organization,  which  is 
called  the  Will,  and  which  itself  is  a  function  of  the  uni- 
versal principle,  the  Spirit. 

Man  is  merely  a  manifestation  of  this  universal  principle 
in  an  individual  form,  and  all  the  spiritual  powers  he 
seems  to  possess  belong  to  the  Spirit.  Like  all  other 
forms  in  nature  he  receives  life,  light  and  energy  from  the 
universal  fountain  of  Life,  and  enjoys  their  possession  for 
a  short  span  of  time ;  he  has  no  powers  whatever  which  he 
may  properly  call  his  own. 

8 


226  UNITY. 

Thus  the  sunshine  and  rain,  the  air  and  earth,  does  not 
belong  to  a  plant.  They  are  universal  elements  belonging 
to  nature.  They  come  and  help  to  build  up  a  plant,  they 
assist  in  the  growth  of  the  rosebush  as  well  as  the  thistle  ; 
their  business  is  to  develop  the  seed,  and  when  their  work 
is  done,  the  organism  in  which  they  were  active  returns 
again  to  its  mother,  the  Earth.  There  is  then  nothing 
which  properly  belongs  to  the  plant  but  the  seed,  for  it 
alone  can  continue  to  exist  without  the  parental  organism 
after  having  attained  maturity,  and  in  it  is  contained  the 
character  of  the  species  to  which  it  belongs. 

Life,  sensation  and  consciousness  are  not  the  property 
of  man ;  he  does  not  produce  them.  They  are  functions 
of  the  universal  Spirit  and  belong  to  that  universal  power, 
which  has  been  called  God.  This  Spirit,  the  One  Life, 
furnishes  the  principles  which  go  to  build  up  the  organism 
called  Man,  the  forms  of  the  good  as  well  as  those  of  the 
wicked.  They  help  to  develop  the  germ  of  Intelligence 
in  man,  and  when  their  work  is  done,  those  elements 
return  again  to  the  universal  fountain  of  Life.  The  germ 
of  Divinity  is  all  there  is  of  the  real  man,  and  all  that  is 
able  to  continue  to  exist  as  an  individual,  and  it  is  not  a 
man,  but  a  Spirit,  one  and  identical  with  the  Universal 
Spirit,  and  one  of  His  children.  How  many  persons 
exist  in  whom  this  divine  germ  reaches  maturity  during 
their  earthly  life  ?  How  many  die  before  it  becomes 
mature  ?  How  many  do  not  even  know  that  such  a  germ 
exists  ?  Who  can  answer  these  questions  ? 

To  this  Universal  Principle  belong  the  functions  which 
we  call  Will  and  Life  and  Light ;  its  foundation  is  Love, 
a  Fire  to  which  nothing  that  can  perish  will  ever  approach. 
To  this  Universal  Principle  belong  all  the  fundamental 
powers  which  produced  the  universe  and  man,  and  only 
when  man  has  become  one  and  identical  with  that  Spirit 
can  he  claim  to  have  any  powers  of  his  own. 

But  the  Will  of  this  Universal  Spirit  is  identical  with 
the  Law,  and  man  who  acts  against  the  Law  acts  against 
the  Will  of  the  Spirit,  and  as  the  Spirit  is  man's  only  real 
Self,  he  who  acts  against  that  Law  destroys  himself. 

The  first  and  most  important  object  of  man's  existence 
is,  therefore,  that  he  should  learn  the  law,  so  that  he  may 
obey  it  and  thereby  become  one  with  the  law  and  God. 
A  man  who  knows  the  Law  knows  himself,  and  a  man 
who  knows  his  divine  Self  knows  God. 


LA  W.  227 

The  only  power  which  man  may  rightfully  claim  his  own 
is  his  Knowledge;  it  belongs  to  him  because  he  has 
acquired  it  by  the  help  of  the  powers  lent  to  him  by 
nature  and  the  Spirit  which  is  active  therein.  Not  the 
"  knowledge  "  of  the  illusions  of  life,  for  such-knowledge  is 
illusive,  and  will  end  with  those  illusions;  not  mere  intel- 
lectual learning,  for  that  intellect  will  be  exhausted  in 
time;  but  the  spiritual  knowledge  of  the  heart,  which 
means  the  power  to  grasp  the  truth  by  feeling  and  under- 
standing, to  feel  it  intuitively,  and  to  see  that  which  we 
feel  by  the  light  of  the  spiritual  intelligence  of  the  mind. 

What  has  been  said  about  the  Will  is  equally  applicable 
to  the  Imagination.  If  man  lets  his  own  thoughts  rest, 
and  rises  up  to  the  sphere  of  the  highest  ideal,  his  mind 
becomes  a  mirror  wherein  the  thoughts  of  God  will  be 
reflected,  and  in  which  he  may  see  the  past,  the  present 
and  future  ;  but  if  he  begins  to  speculate  within  the  realm 
of  illusions,  he  will  see  the  truth  distorted  and  behold  his 
own  hallucinations. 

The  knowledge  of  God  and  the  knowledge  of  Man  are 
ultimately  identical,  and  he  who  knows  himself  knows 
God.  If  we  understand  the  nature  of  the  divine  attributes 
within  us,  we  will  know  the  Law.  It  will  then  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  unite  our  Will  with  the  supreme  Will  or  the  cosmos  ; 
and  we  shall  be  no  longer  subject  to  the  influences  of  the 
astral  plane,  but  be  their  masters.  Then  will  the  Titans 
be  conquered  by  the  gods  ;  the  serpent  will  have  its  head 
crushed  by  Divine  Wisdom  (Sophia) ;  the  "  devil  "  will  be 
conquered,  and  instead  of  being  ruled  by  demons,  we  shall 
become  rulers  and  gods. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  it  does  not  make  any  differ- 
ence what  a  man  believes  so  long  as  he  acts  rightly ;  but 
a  person  cannot  be  certain  to  act  rightly,  unless  he  knows 
what  is  right,  and  we,  therefore,  see  the  most  horrible  acts 
of  injustice  committed  in  the  name  of  justice,  errors  pro- 
claimed as  truths,  and  forms  mistaken  for  principles.  The 
belief  of  the  majority  is  not  always  the  correct  belief,  and 
the  voice  of  reason  is  often  drowned  in  the  clamor  of  a 
superstition  based  upon  an  erroneous  theological  doctrine. 
An  erroneous  belief  is  detrimental  to  progress  in  propor- 
tion as  it  is  universal ;  such  belief  rests  on  illusion ; 
knowledge  is  based  on  truth.  The  greatest  of  all  religious 


228  RULES  OF  LIFE. 

teachers  therefore  recommended  Right  Belief  as  being  the 
first  step  on  the  Noble  Eightfold  Path.* 

Perhaps  it  will  be  useful  to  keep  in  mind  the  following 
rules: 

1.  Do  not  believe  that  there  is  anything  higher  in  the 
universe  than   the  immortal  principle  of  good  obtaining 
self-consciousness  in  man,  and  that  man  is  exactly  what  he 
makes  himself — not  what  he  pretends  to  be — and  nothing 
else.     The  true  religion  is  the  recognition  of  truth  ;  idols 
are  playthings  for  children. 

2.  Learn  that  the  All  is  one  and  that  everything  is  thy- 
self; man  is  a  component  and  integral  part  of  universal 
humanity,  and  that  what  affects  one  acts  and  reacts  on  all. 

3.  Realize  that  man  is  an  embodiment  of  ideas,  and  his 
physical  body  an  instrument  which  enables  him  to  come 
into  contact  with  matter  and  control  it;  and  that  this 
instrument  should  not  be  used  for  unworthy  purposes.     It 
should  neither  be  worshipped  nor  neglected. 

4.  Let  nothing  that  affects  your  physical  body,  its  com- 
fort, or  the  circumstances  in  which  you  are  placed,  disturb 
the  equilibrium  of  your  mind.     Crave  for  nothing  on  the 
material  plane,  live  above  it  without  losing  control  over  it. 

5.  Never   expect  any   favors   from   anybody,   but   be 
always  ready  to  assist  others  to  the  extent  of  your  ability, 
and  according  to  the  requirements  of  justice.     Never  fear 
anything  but  to  offend   the  moral  law  and  you  will  not 
suffer.     Never  hope  for  any  reward  and  you  will  not  be 
disappointed.     Never  ask  for  love,  sympathy,  or  gratitude 
from  anybody,  but  be  always  ready  to  bestow  them  on 
others.     Such  things  come  only  when  they  are  not  desired. 

6.  Learn  to  distinguish  and  to  discriminate  between  the 

*  The  eight  stages  on  the  noble  eightfold  Path  to  find  the  troth  are, 
according  to  the  doctrine  of  Gautama  Buddha,  the  following  : 

1.  Right  Belief. 

2.  Right  Thought. 

3.  Right  Speech. 

4.  Right  Doctrine. 

t.  Right  Means  of  Livelihood. 
.  Right  Endeavor. 

7.  Right  Memory. 

8.  Right  Meditation. 

The  man  who  keeps  these  augas  in  mind  and  follows  them  will  be 
free  from  sorrow,  and  may  become  safe  from  future  rebirths  with  their 
consequent  miseries. 


RULES  OF  LIFE.  229 

true  and  the  false,  and  act  up  to  your  highest  ideal  of 
virtue. 

7.  Learn  to  appreciate  everything  (yourself  included)  at 
its  true  value  in  all  the  various  planes.  A  person  who 
attempts  to  look  down  upon  one  who  is  his  superior  is  a 
fool,  and  a  person  who  looks  up  to  one  who  is  inferior  is 
mentally  blind.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  knowofihe.  worth 
of  a  thing,  its  worth  must  be  realized,  else  it  resembles  a 
treasure  hidden  in  the  vaults  of  a  miser. 

Louis  Claude  de  Saint  Martin  (the  Unknown  Philo- 
sopher) says : 

"  This  is  what  should  pass  in  a  man  who  is  restored  to 
his  divine  proportions  through  the  process  of  regenera- 
tion : 

"  Not  a  desire,  but  in  obedience  to  the  law. 

"  Not  an  idea,  which  is  not  a  sacred  communication 
with  Good. 

"  Not  a  word,  which  is  not  a  sovereign  decree. 

"  Not  an  act,  which  is  not  a  development  and  extension 
of  the  vivifying  rule  of  the  word. 

"  Instead  of  this,  our  desires  are  false,  because  they  come 
from  ourselves. 

"  Our  thoughts  are  vague  and  corrupt,  because  they  form 
adulterous  alliances. 

"  Our  words  are  without  efficacy,  because  we  allow  them 
to  be  blunted  every  day  by  the  heterogeneous  substances  to 
which  we  continually  apply  them. 

"  Our  acts  are  insignificant  and  barren,  because  the"  can 
but  be  the  results  of  our  words." 

Such  and  similar  instructions  are  nothing  new ;  they  have 
been  pronounced  in  various  forms  by  the  philosophers  of 
all  ages,  and  have  been  collected  in  books,  and  men  have 
read  them  without  getting  any  better  for  it,  because  they 
could  not  intellectually  see  the  necessity  for  following  such 
advice.  These  doctrines  have  been  taught  by  the  ancient 
Rishis  and  Munis,  by  Buddha  and  Christ,  Confucius,  Zoro- 
aster and  Mahomed,  Plato,  Luther  and  Shakespeare,  and 
every  reformer.  They  have  been  preached  in  sermons, 
and  are  written  in  poems  and  prose,  in  works  of  philosophy, 
literature,  fiction,  and  art.  They  have  been  heard  by  all, 
understood  by  some,  and  practiced  by  a  few.  To  learn 
them  is  easy,  to  realize  them  is  difficult,  to  adopt  them  in 
practical  life  is  divine.  The  highest  spiritual  truths  cannot 


230  THEOR  Y  AND  PRA  CTICE. 

be  intellectually  grasped,  the  reasoning  powers  of  half- 
animal  man  cannot  hold  them  until  they  become  accustomed 
to  them  ;  average  man  can  only  look  up  to  those  ideals  which 
are  perceptible  to  his  spiritual  vision  in  moments  of  aspira- 
tion, and  only  gradually  can  he  grow  up  into  that  plane 
when,  becoming  less  animal  and  more  intuitive,  he  will  be 
able  to  realize  the  fact  that  moral  growth  is  not  necessary 
to  please  a  god  whose  favor  must  be  obtained,  but  that 
man  himself  becomes  a  god  by  that  growth,  and  that  he 
can  stimulate  it  only  by  making  his  energies  act  on  a  higher 
plane.  The  highest  energies  are  latent  in  the  lower  ones ; 
they  are  the  attributes  of  the  spiritual  soul,  which  in  the 
majority  of  men  is  still  in  a  state  of  infancy,  but  which  in 
future  generations  will  be  more  universally  developed,  when 
humanity  as  a  whole,  having  progressed  higher,  will  look 
back  upon  our  present  era  as  the  age  of  ignorance  and 
misery,  while  they  themselves  will  enjoy  the  fruits  of  the 
higher  evolution  of  Man. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

LIGHT. 
«  Let  there  be  Light."— Bible. 

FORM,  personality  and  sensuality  are  the  death  of  spirit ; 
the  dissolution  of  form,  loss  of  personality  and  unconscious- 
ness of  sensuous  perceptions,  render  spirit  free  and  restore 
it  to  life.  The  elementary  forces  of  nature,  bound  to  forms, 
become  the  prisoners  of  the  forms.  Being  entombed  in 
matter  they  lose  their  liberty  of  action  and  move  only  in 
obedience  to  external  impulses ;  the  more  they  cling  to 
form,  the  more  dense,  compact,  heavy  and  dull  will  they 
become,  and  the  less  will  be  self-acting  and  free.  Sunlight 
and  heat  are  comparatively  free ;  their  elements  travel 
from  planet  to  planet,  until  they  are  absorbed  by  earthly 
forms.  Crystallized  into  matter  they  sleep  in  trees  and 
forests  and  fields  of  coal,  until  they  are  liberated  by  the  slow 
decomposition  of  form,  or  forcibly  set  free  by  the  god  of 
fire.  The  waves  of  ocean  and  lake  play  joyfully  with  the 
shore.  Full  of  mirth  they  throw  their  spray  upon  the  lazy 
rocks.  The  laughing  waters  of  the  wandering  brook  glide 
restlessly  through  forest  and  field,  dancing  and  whirling 
and  playing  with  the  flowers  that  grow  by  the  side  of  their 
road.  They  rush  without  fear  over  precipices,  falling  in 
cascades  over  the  mountain  sides,  uniting,  dividing,  and 
uniting  again,  mingling  with  rivers  and  resting  at  last  for  a 
while  in  the  sea.  But  when  winter  arrives  and  King  Frost 
puts  his  icy  hand  upon  their  faces,  they  crystallize  into 

231 


232  EARTH-BOUND  SPIRITS. 

individual  forms,  they  are  then  robbed  of  their  freedom,  and 
like  the  damsels  and  knights  of  the  enchanted  castle,  they 
are  doomed  to  sleep  until  the  warm  breath  of  youthful 
Spring  breaks  the  spell  of  the  sorcerer  and  kisses  them  back 
into  life. 

The  fundamental  laws  of  Nature  are  the  same  in  all 
her  departments,  and  man  forms  no  exception  to  the 
general  rule.  He  is  a  centre  around  which  some  of  the 
intelligent  as  well  as  some  of  the  unintelligent  forces  hare 
crystallized  into  a  form.  Bound  by  the  laws  of  the  Karma 
which  that  centre  created,  they  are  doomed  to  dwell 
in  a  form,  and  to  partake  of  the  accidents  to  which 
forms  are  exposed  j  imprisoned  in  a  personality,  they  par- 
take of  the  sufferings  which  the  tendencies  of  that  person- 
ality have  called  into  existence.  They  may  be  exposed  to 
desires  whose  thirst  increases  in  proportion  as  they  are 
furnished  with  drink,  to  passions  whose  fire  burns  hotter  in 
proportion  as  their  demand  for  fuel  is  granted  ;  they  are 
tempted  to  run  after  shadows  that  ever  fly,  to  grasp  at  hopes 
that  ever  beckon  and  vanish  as  soon  as  they  are  approached, 
to  sorrows  that  enter  the  house  although  the  doors  may  be 
closed  against  them,  to  fears  whose  forms  have  no  substance, 
to  illusions  that  disappear  only  with  the  life  of  the  form. 
Like  Prometheus  bound  to  a  rock,  the  impersonal  spirit 
is  chained  to  a  personality,  until  the  consciousness  of  his 
herculean  power  awakes  in  him,  and  bursting  his  chains  he 
becomes  again  free. 

Not  all  the  elements  that  go  to  make  up  a  complete  man 
are  enclosed  in  his  material  form.  The  far  greater  part  of 
them  is  beyond  the  limits  of  his  physical  body ;  the  latter 
is  merely  a  centre  in  which  those  invisible  elements  meet. 
The  elements  that  exist  beyond  stand  in  intimate  relation 
with  those  that  are  within,  although  the  elements  within 
the  form  may  not  seem  to  be  conscious  of  the  existence  of 
those  beyond.  Still  they  act  and  react  upon  each  other. 

The  character  of  man  is  far  more  important  than  his 
physical  form.  Thought  can  create  a  form,  but  no  form 
can  produce  a  thought;  and  yet  the  substance  of  thought 
is  invisible  as  long  as  it  has  not  clothed  itself  in  a  form. 
Air  exists  within  and  beyond  the  physical  body  ;  it  is  in- 
visible, and  yet  it  is  an  important  element  of  the  body,  a 
man  who  could  not  breathe  would  be  very  incomplete. 
The  ocean  of  mind  in  which  man  exists  is  as  necessary  to 


THE  TRUE  SELF.  233 

his  soul-life  as  the  air  is  to  his  body,  he  cannot  breathe  if 
deprived  of  air  ;  he  cannot  think  if  deprived  of  mind.  The 
outer  acts  upon  the  inner,  the  inner  upon  the  outer,  the 
above  upon  the  below,  and  the  little  upon  the  great.  A 
man  who  could  live  independent  of  his  surroundings  would 
be  self-existent,  he  would  be  a  god. 

The  spirit  is  not  confined  by  the  form,  it  only  over- 
shadows the  form ;  the  form  does  not  contain  the  spirit,  it 
is  only  its  outward  expression  ;  it  is  the  instrument  upon 
which  the  spirit  plays,  and  which  reacts  upon  its  touch, 
while  the  spirit  responds  to  its  vibrations.  An  ancient 
proverb  says  :  "  Everything  that  exists  upon  the  Earth  has 
its  ethereal  counterpart  above  the  Earth,  and  there  is 
nothing,  however  insignificant  it  may  appear  in  the  world, 
which  is  not  depending  on  something  higher ;  so  that,  if 
the  lower  part  acts,  its  preceding  higher  part  reacts  upon 
it."  * 

The  greatest  philosophers  in  ancient  times  taught  that 
the  vo/Lt$  that  alone  recognized  noumena,  always  remained 
outside  the  physical  body  of  man  ;  that  it  overshadowed 
his  head,  and  that  only  the  ignorant  believed  it  existed 
within  themselves.  Modern  philosophers  have  arrived  at 
similar  conclusions.  Fichte  writes  :  "  The  real  spirit  which 
comes  to  itself  in  human  consciousness  is  to  be  regarded 
as  an  impersonal  pneuma — universal  reason — and  the  good 
of  man's  whole  development  therefore  can  be  no  other  than 
to  substitute  the  universal  for  the  individual  consciousness." 

The  greatest  of  all  teachers,  Gautama  Buddha,  says  : 
"The  permanent  never  mingles  with  the  impermanent, 
although  the  two  are  one.  Only  when  all  outward  appear- 
ances are  gone,  is  that  one  principle  of  life  left,  which  exists 
independently  of  all  external  phenomena.  It  is  the  fire 
that  burns  within  the  external  light  when  the  fuel  is 
expended  and  the  flame  is  extinguished,  for  that  fire  is 
neither  in  the  flame  nor  in  the  fuel,  nor  yet  inside  either  of 
the  two,  but  above,  beneath,  and  everywhere." 

This  real  and  permanent  Self  is  an  impersonal  principle. 
Hermes  Trismegistus  says :  "  His  father  is  the  Sun,  his 
mother  the  stars,  and  his  body  the  generations  of  men." 
It  is  not  attracted  into  the  physical  body  of  man,  but  the 
soul  of  man  may  unite  itself  with  that  principle.  It  is  the 

•  Sohar  Wajecae. 


234  THE  MASTER.   - 

real  Ego  of  every  person,  and  the  person  who  succeeds  to 
merge  his  personality  into  that  Ego  is  thereby  rendered 
immortal.  It  is  the  true  and  living  Christ  of  the  real 
Christians,  not  the  dead  "  Jesus  "  but  the  living  Saviour  who 
remains  with  His  followers  unto  the  end  of  the  world ;  and 
every  one  who  unites  his  own  self  with  that  Christ — no 
matter  what  his  creed  or  confession  may  be — will  become 
as  true  and  veritable  a  Christ  as  ever  lived  upon  the  Earth. 
It  is  the  ^o/of  of  the  ancients,  the  Adam  Kadmon  of  the 
Hebrews,  the  Osiris  of  the  Egyptians,  the  Iswar  of  the 
Hindus,  the  way,  the  light,  and  the  truth,  the  divine  Self  of 
every  man  and  the  Redeemer  for  all. 

The  whole  of  a  man  is  not  enclosed  within  the  small 
circle  that  circumscribes  his  terrestrial  life.  He  who  has 
found  the  Master  within  himself  knows  the  true  insigni- 
ficance of  his  own  personal  self.  The  life  of  the  latter  is 
made  up  of  a  comparatively  small  number  of  years  passed 
among  the  illusions  of  the  terrestrial  plane  j  the  life  of  the 
former  is  made  up  of  the  essence  of  a  great  many  of  such 
lives,  he  has  retained  of  them  only  that  which  is  useful  and 
grand  while  the  worthless  parts  have  been  rejected.  He 
who  has  once  realized  the  presence  of  his  God  laughs  at 
the  idea  of  having  ever  imagined  himself  to  be  something 
more  than  a  bundle  of  semi-conscious  elements  from  which 
the  Higher  Self  may  draw  nutriment  if  it  finds  anything 
therein  compatible  with  its  own  nature.  What  is  all  the 
power  and  glory  of  earthly  kings  compared  with  the  divine 
Man,  the  King  in  the  realm  of  the  soul  ?  What  is  all  the 
science  of  this  earth  but  nonsense,  if  compared  with  the 
self-knowledge  of  the  regenerated  man  ?  Well  may  he  who 
has  welcomed  the  Lord  in  his  soul  be  willing  to  renounce 
money,  power  and  fame,  terrestrial  loves  and  all  the  illu- 
sions of  life,  if  it  can  be  called  "  renunciation  "  to  refuse  to 
touch  things  upon  which  one  looks  with  indifference,  if 
not  with  contempt.  How  can  he  who  has  never  seen  the 
image  of  the  true  Saviour  in  his  heart  love  Him,  and  how 
can  he  who  has  once  beheld  it  cease  to  love  and  adore 
Him  with  his  whole  mind  and  with  all  the  faculties  of  the 
soul  ?  Such  things  are  too  sacred  to  be  divulged  by  the 
spirit  of  God  to  him  who  is  not  worthy  to  receive  God  in 
his  soul ;  they  will  not  be  understood  by  those  who  cannot 
yet  rise  above  limitation ;  let  those  who  know  the  things 
of  which  we  have  attempted  to  write  rejoice  and  worship 
in  silence. 


THE  LORD.  235 

He  who  has  succeeded  in  merging  the  elements  consti- 
tuting his  soul  with  that  divine  and  ethereal  higher  self  will 
feel  its  power  in  his  own  heart.  This  principle  baptizes 
his  soul  with  fire,  and  he  who  receives  this  baptism  of  fire 
is  ordained  a  priest  and  a  king.  He  who  is  full  of  its 
influence  is  the  true  "  vicegerent  of  God,"  because  the 
supreme  power  of  the  universe  acts  through  its  instrument- 
ality. This  principle  fills  his  person  with  a  peace  "  which 
passeth  understanding,"  attracts  the  hearts  of  men  to  him, 
and  sheds  blessings  upon  every  one  who  approaches  his 
presence.  It  forgives  the  sins  of  men,  by  transforming 
them  into  other  men  who  have  not  sinned  and  need  not  to 
be  forgiven  ;  it  does  not  require  to  hear  confession  to  give 
advice,  because  it  can  read  the  innermost  thoughts  of  every 
man,  and  its  admonishing  voice  is  heard  in  the  heart  that 
has  learned  to  understand  its  language.  The  development 
of  the  power  to  perceive  it  confirms  men's  faith  by  enabling 
them  to  recognize  that  to  be  true  which  they  heretofore 
only  believed  to  be  so,  and  being  taught  by  the  truth  itself, 
they  can  make  no  mistake  ;  it  communicates  with  man — 
not  by  being  absorbed  by  man,  but  by  absorbing  the  soul 
of  man  into  itself ;  it  brings  the  dying  to  life,  because, 
being  immortal,  he  who  is  united  with  it  partakes  of  its 
own  immortality;  the  marriages  it  celebrates  can  never  be 
dissolved,  because  in  this  principle  all  humanity  is  bound 
together  to  one  indissoluble  whole ;  to  separate  from  it 
would  be  death  to  the  part  that  separates  itself  from  the 
whole.  The  sphere  in  which  this  principle  still  lives  is  the 
sph^Mj  of  eternal  life;  it  is  the  only  true  and  infallible 
"cliurch,"  and  its  power  cannot  be  taken  away.  This 
church  is  truly  "  catholic,"  that  is  to  say,  universal ;  noth- 
ing can  live  without  its  jurisdiction,  because  nothing  can 
continue  to  exist  without  the  authority  of  life.  Still  it  has 
no  particular  name,  requires  no  fee  for  initiation,  no  cere- 
monies or  rites.  Heathens  and  infidels  may  enter  it  with- 
out changing  their  creed ;  opinions  cease  to  exist  where 
the  truth  is  revealed. 

But  this  true  principle  of  Christ  is  not  the  Christ  of 
popular  Christianity;  it  has  long  ago  been  driven  away 
from  the  modern  Christian  temples,  and  an  illusion  has 
remained  in  its  place.  The  money-changers  and  tradesmen 
have  again  taken  possession  of  the  temple  of  mind,  sacri- 
ficing the  life-blood  of  the  poor  at  the  altars  of  wooden 


236  THE  CHRIST. 

gods,  closing  their  eyes  to  the  truth  and  worshipping 
tinsel,  squandering  the  wealth  of  nations  for  the  glorifica- 
tion of  self.  The  true  "  Son  of  Man  "  is  still  scoffed  at  by 
His  nominal  followers,  traduced  by  His  pretended  friends, 
crucified  by  men  who  do  not  recognize  in  Him  the  only 
source  of  their  life.  Killed  by  men  in  their  own  hearts, 
ignorantly  and  foolishly,  because  they  do  not  know  what 
they  are  doing,  and  that  their  own  life-substance  departs 
at  the  time  when  He  departs  from  their  life. 

Modern  civilization  adores  the  religion  of  selfishness, 
and  rejects  the  gospel  of  love ;  she  debases  her  own 
dignity  by  crouching  at  the  feet  of  idols,  where  she  should 
stand  up  in  her  own  dignity  and  purity  as  the  queen  of  the 
whole  creation.  Humanity  is  still  dreaming  and  has  not 
yet  fully  awakened  to  life.  She  searches  for  a  god  in  her 
imagination,  and  cannot  realize  that  he  can  only  be  found 
in  the  truth.  Men  and  women  clamor  for  the  coming  of  a 
god,  and  yet  this  god  is  ever  ready  to  come  to  them  as 
soon  as  he  is  admitted  into  the  heart,  by  submitting  to 
him  their  will. 

This  unknown  god  is  attainable  to  all.  He  is  ever 
ready  to  be  born  in  every  heart  where  the  conditions  for 
his  birth  are  prepared.  He  always  begins  to  come  to  life 
in  a  "  manger  "  between  the  elemental  and  animal  forces  in 
man.  He  can  only  be  born  in  a  lowly  place,  because 
pride  and  superstition  are  his  enemies,  and  in  a  heart 
filled  with  vanity  he  would  soon  suffocate.  The  news  of 
his  birth  sends  a  thrill  of  pleasure  through  the  physical 
body,  and  the  morning  stars  sing  together  for  joy,  herald- 
ing the  dawn  of  the  day  for  the  resurrection  of  the  spirit. 
The  three  magicians  from  the  East,  Love,  Wisdom  and 
Power,  appear  at  the  manger  and  offer  their  gifts  to  the 
new-born  babe.  If  Her  odes,  the  king  of  pride  and  ambi- 
tion, does  not  succeed  in  driving  it  out  of  the  country,  it 
begins  to  grow,  and  as  it  grows  its  divinity  becomes  mani- 
fest. It  argues  with  the  intellectual  powers  in  the  temple 
of  the  mind,  and  silences  them  by  its  superior  knowledge. 
It  penetrates  into  mysteries,  which  intellectuality,  born  of 
sensual  perceptions,  cannot  explain.  Grey-headed  ma- 
terial science,  sophistry  hoary  with  age,  old  logic  based 
upon  misconceptions  of  fundamental  truths,  give  way,  and 
are  forced  to  acknowledge  the  wisdom  of  the  half-grown 
god. 

Living  in  the  wilderness  of  material  desires,  it  is  vainly 


THE  REDEEMER.  237 

tempted  by  the  devil  of  selfishness.  It  cannot  be  misled 
by  personal  considerations,  because  being  impersonal  it 
has  no  personal  claims.  The  "  devil "  can  give  to  it  noth* 
ing  that  it  does  not  already  possess,  because  being  the  high- 
est it  rules  over  all  that  is  low. 

This  principle  is  the  first  emanation  of  The  Absolute. 
It  is  the  "  only-begotten  "  son  of  its  father,  and  it  is  as  old 
as  the  father,  because  the  manifested  Absolute  could  only 
become  a  "  father  "  at  the  time  when  the  "  son  "  was  born.* 
It  is  the  living  Word,  and  every  man  is  a  Christ,  in  whom 
the  "  Son  of  God"  becomes  manifest.  It  is  the  divine  self 
of  every  man,  his  own  original  ethereal  counterpart  without 
any  infirmities,  because  the  latter  only  belong  to  the  form. 
It  is  not  a  personality,  but  it  may  become  individualized 
in  man  and  yet  remain  in  its  essence  impersonal,  a  living 
principle,  ubiquitous,  incorruptible  and  immortal.  This 
is  the  great  mystery  before  which  the  intellect,  reasoning 
from  particulars  to  universals,  stands  hopelessly  still,  but 
which  the  soul,  whose  inner  spiritual  perceptions  are  alive, 
beholds  with  astonishment  and  wonder.  The  spirit  is 
formless  and  cognizes  the  formless ;  the  intellect  is  con- 
nected with  form,  and  can  only  behold  the  formless  in  the 
light  of  the  spirit.  The  intellect  deals  with  the  finite,  and 
can  only  grasp  the  infinite,  if  illuminated  by  that  very 
principle  whose  existence  is  doubted  before  the  illumination 
took  place. 

As  long  as  the  wavering  intellect  doubts  the  existence  of 
spirit,  it  cannot  become  conscious  of  its  existence,  because 
only  the  steady  light  of  unclouded  reason  can  penetrate 
into  the  depths  where  the  spirit  resides.  Mere  "  belief"  is 
a  confession  of  ignorance  ;  true  faith  is  based  upon  convic- 
tion. But  we  cannot  be  convinced  of  the  existence  of 
something  we  do  not  know  and  of  which  we  are  uncon- 
scious, except  by  becoming  conscious  of  its  existence. 
Consciousness,  knowledge  and  realization  of  the  existence 
of  something  can  only  begin  at  the  moment  when  that 
something  begins  to  become  conscious  within  ourselves. 
We  may  search  for  the  god  within  us,  but  we  cannot 
artificially  bring  him  to  life.  We  can  prepare  the  condi- 
tions under  which  he  may  awake  to  consciousness  within 
ourselves,  by  divesting  the  mind  from  all  emotional  and 

*  Bible :  St.  John  i.  I  ;  Hebrews  i.  3. 


238  GRACE. 

intellectual  predilections  and  prejudices,  and  when  the 
divine  principle  has  awakened  within  us,  then  has  arrived 
the  moment  of  *'  grace."  Such  a  grace  is  not  a  favor  con- 
ferred by  a  partial,  whimsical,  and  personal  god,  it  is  the 
effect  of  a  strong  desire,  which  has  the  power  to  grant  its 
own  prayers,  and  if  that  desire  does  not  exist,  it  is  useless 
to"  pray." As  well  may  an  acorn  enclosed  in  a  stone  beg 
to  be  developed  into  an  oak  as  a  man  whose  heart  is  filled 
with  desires  for  the  low  ask  to  become  conscious  of  the 
high.  To  put  implicit  belief  in  the  statement  of  bonze  or 
priest  is  weakness,  to  enable  ourselves  to  recognize  the 
truth  is  strength,  to  arrive  at  conviction  through  knowledge 
confers  the  only  true  faith. 

Tennyson  speaks  of  the  beginning  of  true  faith  when  he 
says — 

"  We  have  but  faith,  we  cannot  know, 
A  beam  in  darkness,  let  it  grow." 

We  cannot  intellectually  know  ;  but  when  the  beam  has 
grown,  it  constitutes  spiritual  knowledge,  which  is  identical 
with  the  living  faith. 

When  the  divine  and  impersonal  principle  begins  to 
become  conscious  in  the  personal  man,  it  acts  upon  him 
from  the  five  points  of  attraction,  represented  by  the  five- 
pointed  star,  and  in  Christian  symbology  by  the  cross. 
The  body  begins  to  feel  new  sensations,  the  pulse  begins  to 
throb  with  more  vigor,  the  animal  forces  stirred  up  in  their 
"  hells  "  by  the  arrival  of  "  Christ  "  become  more  active, 
pains  may  be  experienced  in  the  head,  the  palms  of  the 
hands,  and  the  soles  of  the  feet,  and  in  other  parts  of  his 
body,  and  the  candidate  for  immortality — whether  he  be  a 
Christian,  a  Turk,  a  Brahmin,  a  Jew,  or  an  Infidel — may 
thus  physically  experience  the  process  represented  in  the 
martyrdom  of  Christ.*  The  interblending  of  the  immortal 
with  the  mortal  will  necessarily  cause  suffering  to  the  latter 
until  the  lower  elements  are  entirely  subjected  and  rendered 
unconscious. 

There  is  no  salvation  except  through  suffering ;  pains 
accompany  man's  entrance  into  the  world,  pains  accom- 

*  The  above  remark  does  not  refer  to  stigmata,  which  are  a  result  of 
a  state  of  exalted  imagination,  while  the  pains  referred  to  are  the  result 
of  the  penetrating  power  of  the  spirit,  infusing  a  new  life  into  the  physical 
form. 


THE  NE  W  LIFE.  239 

pany  his  spiritual  regeneration.  The  low  must  die  so  that 
the  high  may  live,  and  as  the  low  is  gifted  with  conscious- 
ness and  sensation,  it  suffers  acutely  during  its  transfor- 
mation. Only  he  who  has  tasted  the  bitterness  of  evil  can 
fully  realize  the  sweetness  of  good,  only  he  who  has  suffered 
the  heat  of  the  day  can  fully  appreciate  the  cool  of  the 
evening  breeze.  He  who  has  lived  for  ages  in  darkness 
will  know  the  true  value  of  light  when  he  enters  its  realm  ; 
he  who  has  been  buried  in  illusions  will  rejoice  when  he 
rises  up  into  real  knowledge. 

What  is  true  in  regard  to  individual  man  is  equally  true 
in  regard  to  humanity  as  a  whole.  Christ,  the  divine  prin- 
ciple in  the  kingdom  of  Spirit,  impelled  by  the  infinite  love 
that  radiates  from  the  centre  of  the  All,  eternally  descends 
into  the  hearts  of  mankind,  to  partake  of  their  suffering  and 
to  show  them  the  way  to  perfection.  Compared  with  the 
"  ram  "  of  the  intellect  whose  power  resides  in  his  horns, 
He  is  the  "  lamb  "  of  wisdom,  having  no  will  of  His  own, 
but  doing  the  will  of  the  Father.  He  takes  upon  His 
shoulders  the  sins  of  the  world,  for  He  Himself  is  without 
sin.  He  can  gain  no  personal  benefit  by  His  descent  into 
matter;  being  perfect  Himself,  He  needs  no  further  perfec- 
tion; it  is  the  sins  of  men  and  women  that  induce  Him  to 
shed  His  love  and  light  and  life  into  humanity.  Being  one 
with  humanity,  He  suffers  with  all  mankind,  He  suffers  with 
them  on  account  of  their  sins ;  and  as  men  and  women 
become  conscious  of  His  divine  presence,  they  become 
aware  not  merely  of  their  own  individual  evils,  but  of  the 
sufferings  of  humanity  as  a  whole ;  they  begin  to  suffer 
with  and  for  each  other,  they  recognize  in  the  Christ  prin- 
ciple the  universal  link  that  binds  them  all  together  into 
one  harmonious  whole  by  the  power  of  infinite  Love. 

Realizing  their  true  nature  as  sons  of  the  eternal  God, 
they  die  to  all  that  is  animal  and  low,  and  the  more  they 
die  to  the  latter  the  more  will  they  become  alive  in  the 
spirit,  wherein  exists  the  only  true,  real,  and  immortal  life. 
The  motto  of  the  ancient  Rosicrucian  fraternity  was  :  In 
Deo  nascimur,  injesu  morimur,  reviviscimus  per  Spiritum 
Sanctum  ;  that  is  to  say,  their  souls,  like  those  of  all  other 
men,  were  born  from  the  universal  fountain  of  all  Good  j 
they  died  to  their  semi-animal  natures  by  entering  into  the 
spiritual  body — "the  spiritual  church" — of  Christ,  and 
becoming  one  with  the  Christ  spirit,  they  gained  eternal 


240  AT-ONEMENT. 

life  by  being  penetrated,  illuminated,  and  glorified  by  its 
divine  light.  Their  "  church  "  had  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  any  external  church  organization  ;  the  temple  wherein 
their  spirits  met  and  held  holy  communion  of  thought,  was 
the  universal  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  representing  Love, 
Wisdom  and  Sanctity,  and  they  symbolized  it  by  a  circle, 
representing  the  sphere  of  thought,  wherein  Mercury 
(Intelligence)  and  Venus  (Love)  were  joined  together. 


This  conjunction  of  the  principle  of  Love  and  Intelligence 
within  the  soul  of  man  constitutes  the  true  "  Rosicrucian  " 
and  Adept.  It  is  not  to  be  obtained  by  any  external  cere- 
monies and  rites  ;  but  by  the  entire  sacrifice  of  the  self-will 
of  semi-animal  man  to  the  eternal  will  of  God  ;  whereby  the 
lower  self  is  rendered  inactive  and  helpless,  as  if  it  were 
nailed  upon  a  cross  ;  while  the  divine  self  of  man  becomes 
revealed  in  its  own  light. 

Of  these  real  Rosicrucians  no  "  history  "  can  be  written ; 
because  they  have  nothing  to  do  with  external  things  ;  but 
live  in  eternity. 

0  Of  late  the  most  grotesque  and  fabulous  stories  about  the  "  Rosicru- 
cians "  have  been  put  into  circulation,  and  some  enterprising  publishers 
have  brought  out  books  about  their  "ceremonies"  and  "rites."  All 
such  speculations  are  based  upon  the  mistaken  idea  that  the  Rosicrucians 
were  a  certain  sect  or  organization  going  by  that  name,  and  being  bound 
together  by  some  creed  or  belief,  and  using  external  ceremonies  and  signs. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  some  such  "secret  societies"  existed,  calling 
themselves  "  Rosicrucians,"  and  some  such  are  still  in  existence.  They 
have,  however,  nothing  in  common  with  the  true  Rosicrucian  principle  ; 


SYMBOLISM.  241 

These  ideas  are  not  new,  they  have  not  come  into 
existence  with  the  advent  of  Modern  Christianity;  they 
are  eternal  truths,  as  old  as  the  world,  and  they  have  been 
represented  in  various  fables  and  allegories  among  the 
nations  of  this  globe.  In  the  "  Old  Testament"  we  find 
the  doctrine  of  salvation  represented  in  the  story  of  Noah's 
ark.  Noah  represents  the  spiritual  man,  and  the  ark 
the  spiritual  church.  Only  those  elements  of  the  psychic 
organism  of  man  which  enter  the  spiritual  realm  are  saved, 
while  those  who  remain  in  a  lower  state  are  doomed  to 
destruction.  Upon  the  waters  of  thought  floats  the  ship 
containing  many  compartments  ;  the  window  of  knowledge 
is  open  to  enable  the  divine  Man  to  look  out  upon  the 
watery  waste.  The  intellectual  raven  is  sent  out  to  dis- 
cover dry  land,  but  it  can  find  no  place  to  rest,  and  returns 
to  the  ark ;  the  dove  of  spiritual  intelligence  alone  can  find 
solid  ground  in  the  realm  of  the  spirit ;  she  returns  with 
the  emblem  of  peace,  the  doubts  recede,  and  the  ark  is 
turned  into  -a  temple  resting  upon  the  top  of  the  mountain 
of  knowledge. 

Blessed  is  he  whose  ark  during  his  terrestrial  life  is 
guided  upon  this  Ar-ar-at  of  Faith ;  it  will  enable  him 
patiently  and  with  indifference  to  bear  the  ills  of  terrestrial 
life  until  the  soul  is  released  from  her  bonds,  and  returns  to 
her  home  in  the  eternal  kingdom,  having  become  separated 
from  all  the  attractions  of  matter. 

After  this  separation,  fsis,  the  goddess  of  nature,  the 
mother  of  his  body,  an  ever-immaculate  virgin,  Mary,  j1  will 
take  care  of  her  son.  The  life-principle  which  was  active 

no  more  than  the  Christ  spirit  has  anything  to  do  with  the  organization 
of  some  so-called  "  Christian  "  sect.  He  in  whom  the  Christ  lives  is  a 
real  Christian,  not  he  who  merely  professes  a  belief  in  Him  with  his 
mouth.  Likewise  he  who  lives  in  the  light  that  shines  from  the  centre 
of  the  Cross  is  a  Rosicrucian,  and  not  he  who  merely  belongs  to  a  sect 
by  that  name.  A  true  Christian  can  only  be  known  by  his  acts,  and 
likewise  there  is  no  need  for  the  true  Rosicrucian  to  use  passwords  and 
signs  for  the  purpose  of  making  himself  known.  The  only  sign  by  which 
the  brothers  recognize  each  other  is  the  light  of  the  Truth. 

t  Maja  (Illusion). 


242  CEREMONIES. 

in  him  during  his  earthly  existence  will  be  laid  in  a  new 
sepulchre,  "  wherein  was  man  never  yet  laid,"  it  will  be 
transferred  and  embodied  in  new  vegetable  or  animal 
forms.*  Entering  again  into  the  wheel  of  transformation 
and  evolution,  it  may  help  to  produce  grain,  and  assist  in 
the  growth  of  the  grape ;  hidden  in  bread  and  wine,  it  may 
again  enter  the  human  form  ;  but  the  soul,  having  partaken 
of  the  immortal  life  of  the  spirit,  will  have  become  self- 
existent  in  God,  and  suffer  no  further  migrations.  He  who 
partakes  of  material  food  enters  into  communion  with 
the  life-principle  of  nature,  while  he  who  assimilates  his 
nature  with  the  spiritual  principle,  becomes  one  with  the 
spirit  that  constitutes  his  higher  self,  communicates  with 
the  real  Christ. 

In  the  ancient  mysteries  the  ceremony  called  the  trans- 
figuration and  communion  was  performed  in  a  similar 
manner  as  it  is  now  taking  place  in  the  Christian  churches. 
The  initiator  presented  bread  and  wine  to  the  candidates 
before  the  final  revelation  was  made.  This  ceremony 
represents  the  descent  of  the  spirit  into  matter,  by  which 
the  soul  is  at  once  nourished  with  the  "  bread  of  life, "and 
stimulated  into  a  higher  kind  of  spiritual  activity  by  the 
"  wine  of  divine  love,"  and  its  efficacy  will  be  propor- 
tionate to  the  receptivity  of  the  mind  of  the  candidate. 

The  great  Christian  mystic,  Jacob  Boehme,  says  :  "  What 
we  eat  or  drink  affects  merely  the  physical  body,  but  does 
not  affect  the  spirit.  That  which  the  ceremony  symbolizes 
exteriorly  must  take  place  interiorly,  else  the  ceremony 
will  be  of  no  use.  Those  who  wish  to  commune  with  the 
spirit  must  rise  up  to  it  in  their  thoughts  ;  the  high  will 
not  come  down  to  mingle  with  that  which  is  low." 

Thus  it  seems  that  the  original  Christian  allegory  was 
intended  to  describe  an  occult  process,  which  must  have 
been  known  long  before  the  establishment  of  the  external 
Christian  church.  It  is  based  upon  an  universal  law  of 
nature,  and  as  such  it  must  have  existed  as  long  as 
humanity  existed.  The  Indian  Yogi,  who,  by  the  practice 
of  Yog,f  unites  his  lower  self  with  his  higher  self;  the 
Brahmin,  who  by  meditation  and  study  merges  his  Atma 
with  the  universal  Parabrahm  ;  the  Buddhist  who  attempts 

•  A.  P.  Sinnett :  "  Esoteric  Buddhism,"  chap.  ii. 
t "  To  bind." 


TRUTH.  243 

to  annihilate  his  lower  self  that  his  formless  self  may  be 
absorbed  in  Nirvana,  all  follow  the  same  process  ;  but  the 
ignorant,  whether  they  may  call  themselves  Brahmins, 
Buddhists,  Christians,  or  anything  else,  and  who  look  upon 
the  allegorical  representations  of  natural  and  "supernatural" 
forces  described  in  pictures,  and  books,  as  being  the 
images  of  existing  personal  deities,  are  idolaters. 

How  much  more  grand  and  sublime  is  practical  Chris- 
tianity than  the  mere  theoretical  christianism  of  our  times  ! 
Jesus  of  Nazareth,  whether  he  ever  existed  or  not,  re- 
presents the  ideal  man  whose  example  we  ought  to  follow. 
Without  being  a  true  follower  of  the  ideal  Christ,  a  belief 
in  a  person  can  be  of  no  value.  How  superior  is  know- 
ledge to  mere  opinion  and  belief,  how  infinitely  greater 
the  living  spirit  of  Christ  to  a  mere  belief  in  the  historical 
person  whose  memory  is  worshipped  by  those  who  cling  to 
external  symbols  and  cannot  rise  up  to  a  realization  of 
spiritual  facts  !  Why  do  men  close  their  eyes  and  grope 
in  darkness  while  they  are  surrounded  by  light,  why  do 
they  cling  to  death  when  the  door  of  immortal  life  is  open 
before  them  ? 

Those  who  cling  to  external  symbols  without  knowing 
the  meaning  of  the  latter,  cling  to  illusion.  To  convert  an 
ignorant  person  by  substituting  one  form  of  illusion  for 
another  is  useless,  and  the  money  and  labor  expended  for 
such  "  conversions  "  is  wasted.  Ignorance  exchanged  for 
ignorance  remains  ignorance  still ;  a  change  of  opinion 
cannot  establish  conviction,  and  a  pretence  to  knowledge 
does  not  make  a  man  wise. 

If  a  man  knows  the  truth,  it  matters  little  by  what  name 
he  may  call  it,  or  under  what  form  he  may  attempt  to 
express  that  which  cannot  be  made  into  form.  The 
Buddhist,  who  looks  upon  the  image  of  Buddha  as  a 
figurative  representation  of  a  living  principle,  and  who,  in 
memory  of  a  once  living  person  in  whom  that  principle 
found  its  fullest  expression,  and  whose  example  he  wishes 
to  follow,  offers  flowers  and  fruits  at  his  shrine,  is  as  near 
the  truth  as  the  Christian  who  sees  in  the  picture  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  the  representation  of  his  highest  ideal. 

There  had  been  a  great  deal  of  time  and  labor  spent  to 
prove  or  disprove  that  the  founder  of  Christianity  was  a 
person  living  in  Palestine  at  the  beginning  of  the  Chris- 
tian era.  To  know  whether  or  not  such  a  person  by  the 


244  JESUS  OF  NAZARETH. 

name  of  Jesus,  or  perhaps  Jehoshua>  ever  existed,  and 
whether  he  existed  at  the  time  indicated  by  theologians, 
may  be  a  matter  of  great  historical  interest,  but  it  cannot 
be  of  supreme  importance  for  the  salvation  of  Man; 
because  persons  are  only  forms,  and  as  such  they  are  limited 
and  parts  of  the  whole,  and  the  whole  cannot  be  subor- 
dinate to  the  part.  If  the  Man  described  as  Jesus  in  the 
New  Testament  lived,  he  was  undoubtedly  an  Adept,  and 
as  such  he  was  a  true  "  Son  of  God,"  because  every  one  in 
whom  the  spirit  of  God  awakens  to  consciousness  is  a 
Son  of  God  *  and  an  incarnation  of  the  Word.  For  all  we 
know,  he  may  have  been  the  most  perfect  incarnation  of 
the  spirit  of  truth  that  ever  existed,  but  the  truth  existed 
before  the  person  was  born,  and  it  is  not  the  belief  in  the 
person  that  can  save  mankind  from  evil,  but  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  truth,  of  which  the  outward  form  can  be  noth- 
ing else  but  the  external  expression.  Those  who  believe 
in  the  still  living  eternal  spirit  of  Christ,  whether  they 
believe  in  His  person  or  not,  are  the  true  worshippers,  but 
those  who  do  not  follow  His  words,  but  believe  in  His 
person,  worship  only  a  form  without  life — an  illusion. 

The  doctrines  of  the  Jesus  of  the  Gospel  grow  in  sub- 
limity in  proportion  as  their  secret  meaning  is  understood  ; 
the  tales  of  the  Bible  in  regard  to  His  deeds  and  the  miracles 
which  He  performed,  and  which  to  the  superficial  observer 
appear  incredible  and  absurd,  represent  eternal  truths  and 
psychological  processes  which  are  yot  merely  things  of  the 
past,  but  which  occur  even  no^w  \yithin  the  realm  of  the 
soul  of  man,  and  in  proportion  as-  man  ceases  to  be  a 
"  Christian,"  and  comes  nearer  to  Christ,  veil  after  veil 
drops  from  his  eyes,  and  a  new  life  awakens  in  him,  and  a 
new  and  infinite  vista  of  thought'  rises  up  before  his 
astonished  eyes. 

The  theory  of  the  redemption  of  man  does  not  date  from 
the  time  when  the  historical  Christ  is  supposed  to  have 
been  born.  The  history  of  Christ  finds  its  prototype  in 
the  history  of  Krishma.  The  Greeks  taught  the  redemption 
of  the  soul  under  the  allegory  of  Amor^and  Psyche.  Psyche 
(the  human  soul)  enjoys  the  embrace's  of  her  divine  lover 
Amor  (the  sixth  principle)  eve^y  night.  She  feels  his 
divine  presence  and  hears  the  voice  of  intuition  in  her 

*  Revelations  xx.  7,  *" 


OLD  TRUTHS  WITH  NEW  NAMES.  245 

heart,  but  she  is  not  permitted  to  see  the  source  from 
which  that  voice  proceeds.  At  a  time  when  the  God  is 
sleeping  (when  the  voice  of  her  intuition  is  silent)  her 
curiosity  awakes  and  she  wishes  to  see  the  god.  She  lights 
the  lamp  of  the  intellect  and  proceeds  to  examine  critically 
the  source  of  her  happiness  ;  but  at  that  moment  the 
god  disappears,  because  the  clouds  and  illusions  created  by 
her  lower  intellectual  powers  hide  the  higher  spiritual 
truths  from  view.  Despairingly  she  wanders  through  the 
lower  regions  of  her  emotions  and  through  the  sphere  of 
sensual  perceptions.  She  cannot  find  her  god  by  the 
power  of  reasoning  from  the  material  plane.  Ready  to 
die,  she  is  saved  by  the  power  of  her  love  for  her  redeemer  ; 
that  attracts  her  to  him.  She  follows  that  attraction  and 
becomes  united  with  him,  no  more  unconsciously  but 
conscious  and  knowing  his  attributes,  which  are  now  her 
own. 

Modern  Christianity  has  not  destroyed  the  Olympian 
gods.  They  were  allegorical  representations  of  truths,  and 
truths  cannot  be  killed.  The  laws  of  nature  are  the 
same  to-day  as  they  were  at  the  time  of  Tiberius ; 
Christianism  has  only  changed  with  symbols  and  called  old 
things  by  new  names,  and  the  dead  heathen  gods  have 
been  resurrected  in  the  form  of  Roman  Catholic  saints. 

Modern  writers  have  represented  the  same  old  truths  in 
other  forms,  in  prose  and  in  verse.  Goethe — for  instance 
— represents  it  beautifully  in  his  "  Faust."  Dr.  Faust, 
the  man  of  great  intellect  and  celebrated  for  his  learning, 
in  spite  of  all  his  scientific  accomplishments,  is  unable  to 
find  the  truth. 

"  The  unknown  is  the  useful  thing  to  know 

That  which  we  know  is  useless  for  our  purpose." 

Despairing  at  the  impotency  and  insufficiency  of 
intellectual  research,  he  enters  into  a  pact  with  the  prin- 
ciple of  evil.  By  its  assistance  he  attains  wealth,  love 
and  power,  he  enjoys  all  that  the  senses  are  capable  to 
enjoy,  still  feeling  intuitively  that  selfish  enjoyment  cannot 
confer  true  happiness.  Neither  the  splendor  of  the 
imperial  court,  nor  the  beauty  of  Helen  of  Troy,  who 
returns  from  the  land  of  shadows  at  his  request,  nor  the 
orgies  of  the  Blocksberg,  where  all  human  passions  are  let 


246  FAUST. 

loose  without  restraint,  can  satisfy  his  craving  for  more. 
Lord  of  the  Earth,  he  sees  only  a  single  hut  which  is  not 
yet  his  own,  and  he  takes  even  that,  regardless  of  the  fate 
of  its  inhabitants.  Still  he  is  not  satisfied  until,  after 
having  recovered  a  part  of  land  from  the  ocean  by  his 
labors,  he  contemplates  the  happiness  which  others  may 
enjoy  by  reaping  the  benefit  of  his  work.  This  is  the  first 
unselfish  thought  that  takes  root  in  his  mind.  It  fills  him 
with  extreme  happiness,  and  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
happiness  of  others  his  personality  dies  and  his  higher  self 
becomes  glorified  and  immortal. 

Truth  knows  that  it  is,  but  it  cannot  intellectually  and 
critically  examine  itself  unless  it  steps  out  of  itself,  and, 
stepping  out  of  itself,  it  ceases  to  be  one.  The  eye  cannot 
see  itself  without  the  aid  of  a  mirror  ;  good  becomes  only 
known  to  us  after  we  have  experienced  evil ;  to  become 
wise  we  must  first  become  foolish  and  eat  the  forbidden 
fruit.  An  impersonal  power  not  having  been  embodied  in 
a  form,  would  know  that  it  exists,  but  would  know  nothing 
more.  To  learn  the  conditions  of  existence  it  becomes 
embodied  in  form  and  acquires  knowledge  ;  having  gained 
that  knowledge,  form  is  no  longer  required. 

The  desire  for  personal  existence  imprisons  the  spirit 
of  man  into  a  mortal  form  ;  he  who  during  his  life  on 
Earth  conquers  all  desire  for  personal  existence  becomes 
free.  The  divine  Buddha,  resting  under  the  Boddhi-tree 
of  wisdom,  and  having  his  mind  fixed  on  the  chain  of 
causation,  said :  "  Ignorance  is  the  source  of  all  evil. 
From  ignorance  spring  the  Sankharas  (tendencies)  of 
threefold  nature-productions  of  body,  of  speech  and  thought 
(during  the  previous  life) ;  from  the  Sankharas  springs 
(relative)  consciousness,  from  consciousness  spring  name 
and  form,  from  this  the  six  regions  (the  six  senses) ;  from 
this  springs  desire,  from  desire  attachment,  from 
attachment  existence,  birth,  old  age,  death,  grief, 
lamentation,  suffering,  dejection  and  despair.  By  the 
destruction  of  ignorance  the  Sankharas  are  destroyed,  and 
their  consciousness,  name  and  form,  the  six  regions,  con- 
tact, sensation,  desire,  attachment,  existence,  and  its 
consequent  evils.  From  ignorance  spring  all  evils,  from 
knowledge  come  cessation  of  this  mass  of  misery.  The 
truly  enlightened  one  stands,  dispelling  the  hosts  of  illu- 
sions like  the  sun  that  illuminates  the  sky." 


IMPERSONALITY.  247 

The  power  which  diffuses  the  sense  of  personality  is  the 
same  which  caused  the  existence  of  man ;  it  is  the  power 
of  love,  and  the  more  the  love  of  a  person  expands  over 
all  others  the  more  will  the  consciousness  of  personality 
be  diffused.  We  esteem  a  person  according  to  the  degree 
in  which  he  prefers  common  interests  to  the  interests  of 
his  own  personality.  We  admire  generosity,  and  unselfish- 
ness, and  benevolence,  and  yet  such  qualities  are  absurd 
and  useless,  if  we  believe  that  the  highest  object  of  man's 
existence  is  his  own  personal  happiness  on  the  physical 
plane ;  because  the  highest  happiness  in  that  plane  consists 
in  the  greatest  amount  of  possessions  pertaining  to  that 
plane.  To  give  is  to  experience  a  personal  loss.  But  if 
the  man  strives  for  impersonal  power,  to  give  away  per- 
sonal possessions  will  be  his  gain,  because  the  less  he  is 
attracted  to  personal  possessions  the  more  he  will  expand 
his  personality.  To  give  with  the  view  of  expecting  some 
benefit  in  return  is  useless  for  such  a  purpose,  because 
a  person  having  such  an  object  in  view  simply  gives  up 
one  personal  possession  for  another.  He  is  a  tradesman 
that  clings  to  his  goods,  and  is  only  willing  to  part  with 
something  good  provided  he  can  get  something  better  in 
exchange. 

Neither  the  white  nor  the  black  magician  has  any  such 
personal  considerations.  The  inveterate  villain  does  not 
obey  his  selfish  emotions,  but  controls  them  and  creates 
emotions  In  others  which  they  cannot  resist,  and  in  this 
way  he  makes  others  accomplish  his  purpose.  He  hates 
whom  he  chooses  to  hate,  and  his  will,  if  directed  against 
the  person  he  hates,  is  freighted  with  evil.  His  touch 
may  bring  disease,  and  his  evil  eye  may  be  poison  to  per- 
sons who,  having  very  little  will-power  of  their  own,  are 
unwilling  to  resist  its  influence.  The  emotions  which  he 
calls  forth  attract  to  themselves  corresponding  elements  ; 
he  enters  into  co-operation  with  the  evil  forces  of  the  astral 
plane,  whom  he  either  commands  or  propitiates,  or  he 
makes  a  compact  with  them  by  gratifying  their  evil  desires 
and  invoking  their  aid.  Instead  of  expanding  his  powers 
he  concentrates  them  into  a  focus.  His  will  is  rather 
forcible  than  powerful,  and  is  sometimes  rendered  so  by 
certain  practices,  such  as  the  careless  endurance  of  physical 
pain,  and  by  such  ceremonies  as  may  assist  his  imagination. 
The  energies  which  he  accumulates  in  his  astral  body 


24a  PR  A  C  TICE  OF  MA  GIC. 

may  continue  to  exist  long  after  the  death  of  his  physical 
body,  until  they  are  exhausted  by  suffering  and  disin- 
tegrated in  the  astral  plane.  He  opposes  his  individual 
will  to  the  cosmic  will,  and  the  result  is  isolation  and 
death. 

The  white  magician  strengthens  and  expands  his  will- 
power by  bringing  it  into  harmony  with  the  universal  will. 
Not  to  counteract,  but  to  assist  the  process  of  evolution,  is 
his  object,  and  as  the  progress  of  the  evolution  in  nature 
is  towards  unity,  the  first  manifestation  of  his  will  is  a 
universal  love  for  humanity,  and  each  act  by  which  he 
expresses  this  love  strengthens  his  will.  To  unite  one's 
will  with  the  universal  will  does  not  mean  a  merely  passive 
contemplation  and  perception  of  spiritual  truths,  but  an 
active  penetration  into  the  process  of  evolution,  and  a  real 
co-operation  with  the  beneficent  powers,  the  master- 
builders  of  the  sidereal  universe. 

Such  a  union  is  not  produced  by  an  inactive  acqui- 
escence with  the  decrees  of  an  inexorable  fate,  and  patient 
indifference  to  whatever  may  happen ;  much  less  by  a 
submission  of  one's  will  to  the  dictates  of  another  person 
who  claims  to  be  furnished  with  divine  authority,  but  by 
a  strong  determination  to  accomplish  whatever  is  in  our 
power  for  the  good  of  humanity,  and  by  expressing  that 
determination  through  action. 

A  man  may  surrender  his  will  to  the  will  of  another 
man,  if  he  believes  the  latter  to  be  more  wise  than  himself, 
and  by  doing  so  he  may  become  strong  in  mastering  his 
own  self;  but  he  should  never  surrender  his  reason  and 
never  act  contrary  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience.  The 
convent  discipline  of  the  Middle  Ages  may  have  been 
conducive  to  strengthen  the  will-power  of  those  that  were 
subjected  to  it,  but  it  was  destructive  to  reason,  and 
instead  of  gods  imbeciles  were  created. 

According  to  the  unselfishness  and  the  spiritual  power 
of  a  person  his  individual  influence  may  extend  over  a 
family,  a  village,  a  town,  a  country,  or  over  the  whole 
Earth.  Every  one  desires  influence,  and  seeks  to  obtain 
power  by  obtaining  wealth  and  position.  But  the  influence 
gained  by  such  possessions  is  not  individual  power.  A 
fool  may  be  a  pope,  a  king,  or  a  millionary,  and  people  may 
bow  in  obedience  before  him  on  account  of  his  position 
and  wealth.  They  may  despise  his  person  and  adore  his 


PERSONALITY.  249 

possessions,  which  he  himself  adores,  and  to  which  his 
person  is  as  subject  as  the  lowest  one  of  his  slaves.  Such 
a  person  is  not  a  commander ;  it  is  his  wealth  that  com- 
mands him  and  the  others.  His  wealth  in  such  a  case  is 
the  reality,  and  he  himself  an  illusion.  When  his  wealth 
is  squandered  his  own  personality  disappears,  and  those 
who  used  to  crouch  at  his  feet  may  spurn  him  away  from 
their  table.  The  spiritual  power  of  a  person  is  indepen- 
dent of  such  artificial  aids  ;  a  virtuous  person  is  esteemed 
in  proportion  as  his  qualities  become  known,  and  the 
spiritually  strong  exerts  a  powerful  influence  over  all  his 
surroundings. 

To  this  class  belong  all  those  who  have  risen  above  the 
crowd  by  the  power  of  their  own  will  and  intelligence,  and 
not  in  consequence  of  merely  external  circumstances,  such 
as  are  conveyed  by  birth,  money  or  favoritism.  It  is  the 
internal  qualities  of  a  man,  and  not  merely  his  external 
possessions,  that  are  constituting  his  virtue. 

Opposed  to  love  is  hate.  Hate  is  love  reversed ;  it  is 
the  opposite  pole  of  the  same  power  that  in  its  manifest- 
ation for  good  is  called  love,  and  in  its  manifestation  for 
evil  is  named  hate.  Hate,  like  love,  is  an  impersonal 
power,  and  the  being  whose  consciousness  of  personality 
is  merged  into  hate  becomes  himself  an  impersonal  power 
for  evil,  and  as  such  he  may  cause  evil.  His  impersonal 
self  may  be,  to  a  certain  extent,  as  powerful  for  evil  as  the 
impersonal  self  of  him  who  employs  his  faculties  for  good, 
but  at  the  end,  when  the  tension  between  the  two  poles 
will  have  reached  its  natural  limits,  the  law  of  justice  will 
prevail  with  the  good. 

The  reason  why  love  must  prevail  over  hate  is  because 
love  being  associated  with  wisdom  is  stronger  than  hate. 
Love  unites  and  attracts  all ;  it  even  converts  hate  into 
love  by  the  power  of  truth.  Hate  disunites  and  repulses. 
Love  is  related  to  wisdom,  and  hate  is  based  on  ignorance. 
Both  are  enduring  and  independent  of  form,  but  only  that 
which  is  good  and  wise  is  immortal.  Wisdom  is  therefore 
the  true  redeemer  of  good,  and  at  the  same  time  the  de- 
stroyer of  evil.  Love,  acting  from  the  centre  to  the  peri- 
phery destroys  the  consciousness  of  personality  and  elevates 
the  soul  over  the  attraction  of  the  Earth,  expanding  the 
limits  of  its  activity  as  it  increases  in  power.  Tending 
downwards  from  the  periphery  to  the  centre  it  produces 


250  LOVE  AND  HATE. 

form,  personality,  selfishness,  unconsciousness  and  death. 
Awakening  again  in  the  form  it  expands  and  grows  again, 
and  attracting  the  most  refined  and  spiritual  elements  of 
the  form  within  itself  it  saves  them  from  the  tomb  of  mat- 
ter and  resurrects  them  from  the  form. 

Man  may  be  compared  with  a  planet  revolving  around 
its  own  centre  ;  above  the  orbit  in  which  he  turns  is  light, 
below  it  darkness,  but  his  own  personality  is  crystallized 
in  the  centre.  The  light  above  and  the  darkness  below 
attract  him,  and  both  are  filled  with  life  and  strong 
power ;  only  in  the  centre  is  the  material  form,  held  to- 
gether by  the  cohesion  of  selfish  attractions,  rendered 
unconscious  and  immovable  by  its  density,  chilled  by  its 
remoteness  from  the  spiritual  sun.  The  farther  he  travels 
from  that  centre,  the  more  will  he  approach  the  light  or 
the  shadow,  and  having  reached  a  certain  point  at  which 
the  attraction  of  his  personal  self  ceases,  he  will  either 
rise  up  to  the  source  of  light  or  sink  into  the  shadow, 
according  to  his  tendencies  which  lead  him  to  permanent 
good  or  to  permanent  evil.  A  change  from  darkness  to 
light,  from  evil  to  good,  is  only  possible  as  long  as  man,  in 
his  revolutions  around  the  centre  of  his  own  self,  has  not 
transcended  the  orbit  where  the  attraction  of  self  ceases, 
and  where  the  attraction  of  light  and  shadows  counteract 
each  other.  Having  transcended  that  orbit,  no  return  is 
possible,  he  has  then  committed  the  unpardonable  sin 
which  only  the  impersonal  man  can  commit ;  because  per- 
sonal man,  being  bound  to  a  form,  and  under  the  influence 
of  love  for  self,  is  not  free  to  act  as  he  pleases.  As  long 
as  he  clings  to  self  he  acts  ignorantly  and  under  the  pres- 
sure of  selfish  considerations.  Mistaking  the  low  for  the 
high,  he  clings  to  the  low  and  perishes  with  it.  Only  he 
who  has  attained  the  knowledge  of  self  will  be  able  to 
choose  free,  because  he  will  know  the  nature  of  that  which 
he  chooses  ;  the  blind  have  no  freedom  of  choice.  Only  at 
the  end,  when  all  will  have  attained  knowledge  and  freedom, 
will  be  the  final  resurrection  of  humanity,  as  a  whole,  the 
parting  of  light  and  shadow,  and  the  restoration  of  good. 
Then  will  be  the  day  of  Judgment  referred  to  in  the  Reve- 
lation of  St.  John,  when  after  the  ending  of  the  seventh 
round  of  the  life-wave  around  the  planetary  chain,  the 
"  bottomless  pit "  will  be  opened  and  the  good  and  evil 
will  part.  But  no  personal  judge  may  be  there,  nor  any 
persons  that  could  be  judged,  but  only  the  power  of  good 


THE  BALANCE.  251 

and  evil,  of  which  former  personalities  constitute  an  integral 
part,  and  the  power  of  the  law.* 

The  unpardonable  sin  is  to  knowingly  and  willfully  reject 
spiritual  truth.  In  a  certain  sense  all  sins  are  "  unpardon- 
able," because  they  all  cause  effects  which  have  to  become 
exhausted  before  they  can  cease  ;  but  if  a  person  knoiv- 
ingly  and  willfully,  without  any  selfish  considerations, 
rejects  the  truth,  it  proves  that  he  has  a  determinate  prefer- 
ence for  evil,  that  he  loves  evil  better  than  good,  and  that 
he  is  therefore  amalgamated  with  evil.  He  who  is  ignorant 
is  not  responsible  for  his  acts,  but  he  who  knows  the  truth 
and  rejects  it  will  suffer  its  loss.  Only  the  good  will  sur- 
vive, and  he  who  chooses  evil  will  perish  in  evil.  It  is 
therefore  dangerous  for  men  to  acquire  occult  knowledge, 
before  they  have  become  sufficiently  wise  to  select  only 
that  which  is  good. 

Man  passes  through  several  resurrections.  His  life- 
principle  resurrects  in  the  plants  growing  on  his  grave  and 
in  the  worms  feeding  upon  his  body,  his  astral  soul  resur- 
rects from  ilie  body,  his  true  self  from  the  elementary 
forces  connected  with  the  activity  of  his  soul.  Besides 
these  resurrections  there  are  continually  resurrections 
taking  place  within  the  soul  of  man ;  there  is  the  resurrec- 
tion from  selfishness  to  a  true  realization  of  truth,  the 
resurrection  from  ignorance  to  knowledge,  and  his  liberation 
from  the  attraction  of  evil.  Good  and  evil  will  finally 
resurrect  from  the  form,  the  good  a  blessing  and  the  evil  a 
curse ;  but  the  ignorant  that  know  neither  good  nor  evil 
will  have  no  resurrection,  because  they  have  no  spiritual 
life.  They  will  remain  chained  to  the  form  and  sleep  crys- 
tallized in  space  and  "  live  not  again  until  the  thousand 
years  f  are  finished,"  {  when  they  may  again  begin  their 
labor  of  developments  at  the  commencement  of  a  world. 

But  He  that  is  will  still  "  sit  upon  the  great  white 
throne"  after  the  earth  and  the  heaven  have  fled  away 
from  His  face,  §  and  the  powers  of  good,  the  sons  of  wis- 
dom, "over  which  the  second  death  has  no  power,"  will 
be  with  Him  §§  as  priests  and  kings,  when,  after  the  Pralaya 
is  ended,  He  stretches  forth  His  hands  and  commands 
again  :  Let  there  be  Light. 

*  St.  John  :  Revelations  xx.  I. 

t  The  Pralaya.  J  St.  John  :  Revelations  xx.  5 

§  Revelations  xx.  2.  §§  Ibid.,  xx.  6. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

CONCLUSION. 

tf  He  to  whom  time  is  like  eternity,  and  eternity  like  time,  is  free . " — 
Jacob  Boehme. 

To  picture  the  eternal  and  incomprehensible  in  forms,  and 
to  describe  the  unimaginable  in  words,  is  a  task  whose 
difficulty  has  been  experienced  by  all  who  ever  attempted  it. 
The  formless  cannot  be  described  in  forms,  it  can  only  be 
represented  by  allegories  which  can  only  be  understood  by 
those  whose  minds  are  open  to  the  illumination  of  truth. 
The  misunderstanding  of  allegorical  expressions  in  the 
sacred  books  has  led  to  religious  wars,  to  the  torturing, 
burning  and  killing  of  thousands  of  innocent  victims  \  it 
has  caused  the  living  wives  of  dead  Hindus  to  be  burned 
with  the  corpses  of  their  husbands,  it  has  caused  ignorant 
men  and  women  to  throw  themselves  before  the  wheels  of 
the  car  of  the  Juggern&th,  it  causes  the  endless  quarrels 
between  some  200  Christian  sects,  and  while  the  truth 
unites  all  humanity  into  one  harmonious  whole,  the  mis- 
understanding of  it  produces  innumerable  discords  and 
diseases. 

The  Bible  says  :  "  The  secret  things  belong  unto  the 
Lord ; "  and  the  Bhagwat  Gita  repeats  the  same  truth  in 
the  following  words  :  "  Those  whose  minds  are  attracted 
to  my  invisible  nature  have  a  great  labor  to  encounter, 
because  an  invisible  path  is  difficult  to  be  found  by  cor- 
poreal beings."  The  greatest  poets  of  the  world  have 
had  occasion  to  regret  the  poverty  of  human  language, 
which  rendered  it  impossible  to  express  the  language  of  their 
hearts  in  words  ;  and  those  whose  minds  have  been  fully 
opened  to  the  knowledge  of  spiritual  truths,  the  wisest  of 
all  men,  such  as  Buddha,  have  left  no  written  records  of 
their  doctrines  ;  perhaps  their  conceptions  were  too  grand 
to  be  expressed  in  words,  and  can  be  understood  only  by 
those  who  feel  as  they  felt,  and  whose  hearts  are  open  to 
the  sunlight  of  divine  illumination. 

252 


THE  SUN  OF  WISDOM.  253 

Let  us  attempt  to  put  the  impressions  intuitively 
received,  regarding  the  Divine  Source  of  all  Being,  into 
language,  although  we  well  know  that  language  is  inadequate 
to  describe  it,  and  an  attempt  to  put  that  which  cannot  be 
grasped  by  the  intellect  into  words,  will  give  rise  to  mis- 
conceptions in  those  who  are  unable  to  think  with  their 
hearts. 

Far,  in  the  unfathomable  abyss  of  space,  far  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  imagination  of  man,  unapproachable  even  by 
the  highest  and  purest  angel  or  thought,  self-existent, 
eternal,  resplendent  in  its  own  glory  is  the  Shining  One, 
whose  palpitating  Centre  is  invisible  Fire,  whose  rays  are 
Light  and  Life,  pervading  the  Universe  to  its  utmost 
limits,  penetrating  every  form  and  causing  it  to  live  and 
to  grow.  Their  harmonious  vibrations  are  undulating 
through  space,  filling  all  animate  and  inanimate  beings 
with  the  substance  of  Love.  Meeting  primordial  matter 
in  space,  they  form  it  into  revolving  globes,  and  chain 
them  together  by  Love,  manifesting  itself  as  attraction  and 
guiding  them  on  in  their  restless  revolutions.  Penetrating 
into  the  hearts  of  animals  and  men,  they  create  sensation 
and  relative  consciousness,  cause  the  form  to  feel,  to  per- 
ceive and  to  know  its  surroundings,  call  into  life  the 
emotions  of  love  and  its  reaction  hate  with  all  their  attend- 
ing virtues  and  vices.  Penetrating  deep  into  the  hearts  of 
men,  they  kindle  there  the  divine  fire  in  whose  light  man 
may  see  the  image  of  the  Shining  One,  and  know  it  to  be 
himself. 

But  it  is  beyond  the  power  of  man  to  describe  in 
language  that  which  cannot  be  described,  to  combine 
words,  so  that  the  reader  may  form  an  intellectual  con- 
ception of  something  for  which  no  intellectual  conception 
exists ;  for  in  the  presence  of  the  highest,  the  unthinkable 
ideal,  intellectual  labor  ceases,  and  spiritual  adoration 
begins.  Intellectual  labor  is  a  function  which  man  shares 
with  the  animals  ;  but  the  divine  prerogative  of  spiritual 
man  and  his  highest  destiny  is  to  live  in  eternal  perception 
and  adoration  of  the  highest  Good,  of  which  the  intellect 
cannot  conceive,  and  for  which  we  can  find  no  name. 

In  this  eternal  universal  principle  is  the  source  of  all 
Power.  In  it  alone  is  magic  power  contained,  even  to  the 
extent  of  creating  new  worlds  and  to  call  a  new  universe 
of  forms  into  existence.  It  is  the  only  Philosopher's  Stone 


2$4  INTELLECTUAL  ANIMALS. 

and  the  only  Elixir  of  Life  or  Universal  Panacea,  and 
can  be  had  everywhere  and  at  any  time  without  expense, 
by  every  one  who  knows  how  to  seek  for  it.  It  can  attain 
self-consciousness  and  self-knowledge  only  in  the  organism 
of  man,  because  the  lower  animals  are  not  yet  far  enough 
advanced  to  be  used  as  its  vehicles  and  instrument ;  but 
the  man  in  whom  it  has  awakened  to  life  shares  its  attri- 
butes and  obtains  magic  power ;  for  he  is  a  living  temple 
of  God.  The  man  in  whom  God  has  not  awakened  is,  as 
long  as  he  remains  in  that  condition,  merely  an  intellectual 
animal,  and  having  no  Spirit  active  within  his  heart,  he 
can  possess  no  spiritual  or  magical  powers.  Some  modern 
"  Philosophers,"  who  say  that  man  has  no  magical  powers, 
are  right  from  their  own  point  of  view  ;  for  the  "  man  " 
known  to  external  science  is  merely  an  intellectual  animal, 
having  no  spiritual  and  therefore  no  magical  power ;  the 
real  man  only  begins  to  exist  when  he  is  reborn  in  the 
Spirit.  True  philosophers  have  recognized  this  fact. 
Schopenhauer  says  :  "  In  consequence  of  the  action  of 
'  grace,'  the  entire  being  of  man  becomes  remodelled,  so 
that  he  desires  no  longer  anything  of  that  for  which  he  was 
craving  heretofore,  and  becomes  so  to  say  a  new  man."  * 

Everything  in  nature  has  a  threefold  nature,  and  like- 
wise the  allegories  of  the  sacred  books  of  the  East  as  well 
as  those  of  the  West  have  a  threefold  meaning — an  exoteric, 
an  esoteric,  and  a  secret  signification.  The  vulgar— the 
learned  as  well  as  the  unlearned — can  see  only  the 
exoteric  side,  which,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  is  so  absurd, 
that  its  very  absurdity  should  serve  as  a  warning  to  people 
endowed  with  common  sense  not  to  accept  these  fables  in 
their  literal  meaning ;  there  is,  however,  nothing  too 
absurd  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  ignorant,  and  we  see 
them,  therefore,  split  into  three  classes,  namely — first,  into 
those  who  implicitly  believe  their  literal  meaning  \ 
secondly,  into  those  who  reject  them  on  account  of  their 
supposed  absurdity,  never  suspecting  a  deeper  meaning ; 
and,  thirdly,  into  those  who  are  irritated  at  their  absurdity, 
and  valiantly  fight  the  man  of  straw  which  they  have  them- 
selves set  up  in  their  minds. 

Those  who  are  willing  to  learn  can  be  instructed,  but 
they  that  believe  that  they  already  know,  refuse  to  be 

*  "  Welt  als  Wille  und  Vorstellung."  I.,  625. 


THE  PATH.  255 

taught.  For  this  reason  the  legitimate  guardians  of  the 
truth,  the  teachers  of  science  and  religion,  like  those  who 
have  no  intellectual  power,  are  often  the  last  ones  to  re- 
cognize the  truth.  Those  who  are  not  able  to  think  cannot 
be  taught,  and  those  who  live  entirely  within  the  region  of 
intellectual  speculation  reject  the  light  of  their  own  intui- 
tion. The  esoteric  meaning  of  symbols  may  be  understood 
by  those  whose  intellect  is  open  to  intuition,  and  may  be 
explained  to  all  who  do  not  reject  the  truth  ;  but  the  secret 
meaning  of  the  sacred  symbols  cannot  be  explained  in 
words,  it  can  be  understood  only  by  those  who  have 
entered  the  practical  way. 

How  can  we  enter  the  path  ? — Only  in  practical  experi- 
ence is  life.  Petrified  speculative  science,  mouldy  spec- 
ulative philosophy,  and  dried-up  speculative  theology 
groan  in  the  embrace  of  death.  Humanity  awakes  from 
her  slumber  and  asks  them  for  the  bread  of  wisdom,  but 
receives  only  a  stone.  She  turns  to  science,  but  science  is 
silent,  wraps  herself  up  in  her  vanity  and  turns  away ;  she 
turns  to  philosophy,  and  old  philosophy  answers,  but  her 
talk  is  an  incomprehensible  jargon,  and  confuses  matters 
still  more.  She  turns  to  theology,  but  theology  threatens 
the  obnoxious  questioner  with  hell,  and  bids  her  to  remain 
ignorant.  But  the  people,  on  the  whole,  are  no  longer 
satisfied  with  such  answers ;  they  are  no  longer  contented 
with  the  assertion  that  the  truth  is  known  to  a  few,  and 
that  they  themselves  must  remain  ignorant,  they  want  to 
enjoy  it  too. 

If  we  wish  to  enter  the  path  to  infinite  life,  the  first 
requirement  is 

TO   KNOW. 

Knowledge  is  the  perception  and  understanding  of  truth. 
We  can  only  know  that  which  we  perceive.  All  know- 
ledge arrived  at  by  logic,  however  exact,  is  only  negative 
knowledge,  but  not  positive  ;  for  truth  is  spiritual  and  can 
'be  recognized  only  by  spirit.  By  intellectual  reasoning 
and  mathematics  we  can  find  out  what  a  thing  is  not ;  but 
never  what  it  actually  is.  We  say  that  one  and  two  added 
together  make  three  ;  meaning  that  they  can  make  nothing 
else  but  three  ;  but  what  the  three  actually  is,  still  remains 
a  mystery.  We  say  that  if  we  chemically  combine  Sulphur 


256  KNOWLEDGE. 

and  Carbon,  the  result  can  be  nothing  else  but  a  com- 
pound of  Sulphur  and  Carbon  ;  but  for  all  that  we  do  not 
know  what  that  combination  is,  as  long  as  we  have  not 
perceived  its  attributes.  There  are  two  principal  modes 
of  perception,  namely,  seeing  and  feeling.  Each  of  these 
modes,  if  unaccompanied  by  the  other,  is  unreliable  ;  only 
if  we  simultaneously  see  and  feel  a  thing  do  we  know  that 
it  exists. 

Thousands  of  years  have  passed  away  since  mankind 
first  saw  the  sun  and  stars,  and  modern  telescopes  have 
brought  them  nearer  to  us.  Nevertheless  our  knowledge 
of  these  cosmic  bodies,  and  the  conditions  of  life  existing 
upon  them,  consists  merely  of  speculations  and  opinions, 
which  may  be  overthrown  at  any  time,  when  our  means 
for  observation  are  supplanted  by  better  ones.  We  give 
names  to  the  substances  discovered  by  the  spectroscope, 
but  we  will  not  know  the  true  nature  of  the  stars  as  long 
as  we  are  not  able  to  partake  of  their  consciousness  and 
feel  the  qualities  of  the  life  and  characters  embodied  in 
their  forms. 

For  thousands  of  years  mankind  has  intuitively  felt  the 
presence  of  the  Unknown.  Those  who  felt  the  presence 
of  the  universal  Spirit,  know  that  it  exists.  Generations 
after  generations  have  disappeared  irom  earth  after  spend- 
ing their  lives  in  vain  efforts  to  know  thrt  God  whose 
power  they  felt  but  whom  they  could  not  see  with  their 
eyes,  and  even  our  greatest  theologians  seem  to  be  very  far 
from  a  true  knowledge  of  God.  Only  when  the  mind  of 
the  regenerated  man  has  become  illuminated  by  divine  wis- 
dom will  he  be  able  to  know  the  true  God,  for  he  will  see 
His  image  within  his  own  soul. 

If  we  are  able  to  see  and  feel  the  external  attributes  of 
a  thing,  we  may  begin  to  understand  what  these  qualities 
are,  but  we  will,  for  all  that,  still  be  ignorant  of  its  interior 
qualities  and  its  true  character.  To  know  the  latter  it  will 
be  necessary  to  enter  into  its  spirit,  and  this  can  only  be 
done  by  the  spirit  of  man,  not  by  his  external  senses.  The 
spiritual  principle  in  man,  if  once  awakened  to  self-con- 
sciousness, has  attributes  and  functions  far  superior  to 
those  of  the  external  man;  it  has  the  power  to  perceive, 
to  see  and  to  feel  the  internal  qualities  of  things  which  are 
imperceptible  to  the  external  senses  ;  it  can  identify  itself 
with  the  object  of  its  observation  and  partake  of  its  con- 


SELF-KNO  WLED  GE.  257 

sciousness,  it  becomes  for  the  time  being  as  one  with  that 
object  and  shares  its  feelings,  it  sees  that  object  objection- 
ally  and  partakes  of  its  subjective  sensations. 

Thus  does  a  lover  partake  of  the  joys  and  sorrows  of 
the  object  he  loves,  and  feel  as  if  he  were  one  with  it  in 
spirit  although  separated  from  it  in  the  form ;  for  love  is 
the  power  by  which  such  a  divine  state  is  attained,  it 
penetrates  all  things,  and  coming  from  the  centre  of  all 
it  goes  to  the  centre. 

What  is  it  that  prevents  us  to  love  and  to  know  all 
things  but  our  own  prejudices  and  predilections  ?  We  do 
not  see  things  as  they  are  but  as  we  imagine  them  to  be. 
He  who  desires  to  know  all  things  should  not  look  upon 
them  with  his  own  eyes,  but  with  the  eyes  of  God ;  he 
should  not  think  the  thoughts  suggested  by  external 
appearances,  but  he  should  let  the  Divine  Spirit  do  its 
thinking  within  his  mind. 

To  obtain  true  knowledge  we  must  render  ourselves 
able  to  receive  it ;  we  must  free  our  minds  from  all  the 
intellectual  rubbish  that  has  accumulated  there  through 
the  perverted  methods  of  education  of  modern  civilization. 
The  more  false  doctrines  we  have  learned  the  more  diffi- 
cult will  be  the  labor  to  make  room  for  the  truth,  and  it 
may  take  years  to  unlearn  that  which  we  have  learned  at 
the  expense  of  a  great  deal  of  labor,  money,  and  time. 
The  Bible  says  that  "we  must  become  like  little  children 
before  we  can  enter  the  kingdom  of  truth."  The  princi- 
pal thing  to  know  is  to  know  ourselves;  if  we  know  our- 
selves, we  will  know  that  we  are  to  be  the  kings  of  the 
universe.  The  essential  Man  is  a  Son  of  God,  he  is  some- 
thing far  greater,  far  more  sublime  and  far  more  powerful 
than  the  insignificant  animal  described  as  a  man  in  our 
scientific  works  on  anthropology. 

Well  may  Man  who  knows  his  true  nature  be  proud  of 
his  nobility  and  power ;  well  may  the  man  known  to 
external  science  be  ashamed  of  his  weakness.  Well  may 
the  former  consider  himself  superior  to  the  gods,  and  the 
latter,  a  worm  of  the  earth,  crawl  into  a  corner  and  ask  for 
the  protection  of  a  real  man  who  is  a  god.  The  true  Man 
is  a  divine  being,  whose  power  extends  as  far  as  his 
thoughts  can  reach  ;  the  irrational  man  is  a  compound  of 
semi-animal  forces,  subject  to  their  caprices  and  whims, 
with  a  spark  of  divine  fire  in  him  to  enable  him  to  control 

9 


258  DIGNITY  OF  MAN: 

them,  but  which  spark,  in  the  great  majority  of  cases,  is 
left  to  smoulder  and  vanish.  The  former  is  immortal,  the 
latter  lives  a  few  years  among  the  illusions  of  life.  The 
former  knows  that  he  lives  for  ever  in  the  All,  the  latter 
expects  to  die,  or  perhaps  to  obtain  a  lease  on  his  personal 
existence  by  the  favor  of  some  personal  god  who  may 
permit  him  to  carry  his  iniquities  into  a  sphere,  in  which 
only  the  pure  can  exist.* 

There  are  three  kinds  of  knowledge,  the  useful,  the 
useless,  and  the  harmful.  The  most  useful  knowledge  is 
the  one  which  relates  to  the  essential  nature  of  man,  to  his 
destiny,  and  to  his  possibilities.  There  is  no  higher 
knowledge  than  the  practical  knowledge  of  religion  ;  that 
is  to  say,  the  knowledge  of  all  that  relates  to  the  spiritual, 
emotional,  and  physical  nature  of  man.  He  who  has  thio 
knowledge  is  necessarily  the  true  physician  for  the  soul  as 
well  as  for  the  body,  and  he  heals  by  the  power  of  his 
spirit.  An  attempt  to  separate  religion  from  science  and 
the  practice  of  morality  from  the  practice  of  medicine 
leads  to  illusions  of  the  most  dangerous  kind. 

The  useless  knowledge  is  the  knowledge  of,  or  rather 
the  adherence  to,  illusions  and  falsehoods  ;  it  is  no  real 
knowledge,  although  it  embraces  a  great  deal  of  what  is 
considered  of  great  importance  in  civilized  countries  that 
men  should  know. 

The  harmful  knowledge  consists  in  scientific  attain- 
ments without  any  corresponding  perception  of  the  moral 
aspect  of  truth.  It  is  only  partial  knowledge,  because  it 
recognizes  only  a  part  of  the  truth.  A  high  intellectual 
development  without  any  corresponding  growth  of  morality 
is  a  curse  to  mankind.  Knowledge  to  be  good  must  be 
illuminated  by  Wisdom;  knowledge  without  wisdom  is 
dangerous  to  possess.  Misunderstanding  and  misapplica- 
tion of  truths  are  the  source  of  suffering. 

The  attainment  of  power  is  often  not  accompanied  with 
any  proper  understanding  how  to  apply  that  power  wisely. 
The  invention  of  the  fulminates  of  mercury,  of  gunpowder 
and  nitro-glycerine,  has  caused  much  suffering  to  a  large 
part  of  humanity.  Not  that  the  substances  applied,  or 
the  forces  which  are  liberated,  are  intrinsically  evil,  but 

*  Revelations  xxi.  27. 


DANGEROUS  KNOWLEDGE.  259 

their  misapplication  leads  to  evil  results.  If  all  men  were 
intelligent  enough  to  understand  the  laws  which  govern 
them,  and  wise  enough  to  employ  them  for  good  purposes 
only,  no  evil  results  would  follow. 

If  we  proceed  a  step  further  and  imagine  intellectual 
but  wicked  and  selfish  people  possessed  not  only  of  the 
power  to  employ  explosives,  poisonous  drugs,  and  medi- 
cines to  injure  others,  but  able  to  send  their  own  invisible 
poisonous  will  to  a  distance,  to  leave  at  will  the  prison- 
house  of  the  physical  body  and  go  in  their  astral  forms 
to  kill  or  injure  others,  the  most  disastrous  results  would 
follow.  Such  forbidden  knowledge  has  been  and  is  some- 
times possessed  by  people  with  criminal  tendencies,  a  fact 
which  is  universally  known  in  the  East,  and  upon  the  pos- 
sibility and  actuality  of  such,  facts  have  been  established 
on  many  occasions,  and  among  others  by  many  of  the 
witch  trials  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Modern  scientists  may 
now  laugh  at  these  facts,  but  the  doctors  of  law,  of  medi- 
cine, and  of  theology  of  their  times,  were  as  sure  of  their 
knowledge  then  as  their  modern  representatives  are  of 
their  own  opinions  to-day,  and  the  former  had  as  many 
intellectual  capacities  as  the  latter.  The  only  difference  is 
that  the  former  knew  these  facts,  but  gave  a  wrong  explan- 
ation ;  the  latter  refuse  to  examine  them,  and  give  no 
explanation  at  all. 

Man  is  continually  surrounded  by  unseen  influences,  and 
the  astral  plane  is  swarming  with  entities  and  forces, 
which  are  acting  upon  him  for  good  or  for  evil,  according 
to  his  good  or  evil  inclinations.  At  the  present  state  of 
evolution  man  has  a  physical  body,  which  is  admirably 
adapted  to  modify  the  influence  from  the  astral  plane,  and 
to  shelter  him  against  the  "  monsters  of  the  deep" 

If  the  physical  body  is  in  good  health,  it  acts  as  an 
armor,  and,  moreover,  man  has  the  power,  by  a  judicious 
exercise  of  his  will,  to  so  concentrate  the  odic  aura  by  which 
he  is  surrounded,  as  to  render  his  armor  impenetrable ;  but 
if  by  bad  health,  by  a  careless  expenditure  of  vitality,  or  by 
the  practice  of  mediumship,  he  disperses  through  space 
the  odic  emanations  belonging  to  his  sphere,  his  physical 
armor  will  become  weakened  and  unable  to  protect  him ; 
he  becomes  the  victim  of  elementaries  and  elemental  forces, 
his  mental  faculties  will  lose  their  balance,  and  sooner  or 
later  he  will,  like  the  symbolical  Adam  and  Eve,  know 


26o  DANGERS  OF  THE  ASTRAL  PLANE. 

that  he  is  naked,  and  exposed  to  influences  which  he 
cannot  repel.  Such  is  the  result  for  which  those  ignorant- 
ly  crave  who  wish  to  obtain  knowledge  without  corres- 
ponding morality.  To  supply  the  ignorant  or  weak  with 
powers  of  destruction  would  be  like  providing  children 
with  gunpowder  and  matches  for  play. 

Only  an  intelligent  and  well-balanced  mind  can  discrim- 
inate properly  and  dive  into  the  hidden  mysteries  of  Nature. 
"  Only  the  pure  in  heart  can  see  God."  He  who  has 
reached  that  stage  need  not  search  for  an  Adept  to  instruct 
him  ;  the  higher  intelligences  will  be  attracted  to  him,  and 
become  his  instructor,,  in  the  same  manner  as  he  may  be 
attracted  by  the^Beauty  of  an  animal  or  of  a  flower. 

A  harp  does  'not  invent  sound  but  obeys  the  hand  of  a 
master,  and  the  more  perfect  the  instrument,  the  sweeter 
may  be  the  music.  A  diamond  does  not  originate  light, 
but  reflects  it,  and  the  purer  the  diamond  the  purer  will  be 
its  lustre.  Man  does  not  invent  original  thought,  will,  and 
intelligence.  He  is  a  mirror  in  which  the  thought  of  God 
and  the  imagery  of  nat::rc  is  rejected,  an  instrument  through 
which  the  eternal  will  or  the  animal  will  expresses  itself; 
a  pearl  filled  with  a  drop  of  water  from  the  universal 
ocean  of  intelligence. 

"If you  eat  from  the  tree  of  true  knowledge  you  will 
surely  die."  Your  personality  will  be  swallowed  up  by  a 
realization  of  the  fact  that  personal  isolation  is  only  an 
illusion,  and  that  you  are  one  with  the  all.  But  as  your 
personality  dies,  a  greater  truth  opens  before  you,  and 
you  become  not  only  God-like,  but  God. 

He  who  ascends  to  the  top  of  a  high  mountain  need  not 
inquire  for  somebody  to  bring  him  pure  air.  Pure  air  sur- 
rounds him  there  on  all  sides.  The  realm  of  wisdom  is  not 
limited,  and  he  whose  mind  is  receptive  will  not  suffer  from 
want  of  divine  influx  to  feed  his  aspiration. 

The  school  in  which  the  occultist  graduates  has  many 
classes,  each  class  representing  a  life.  The  days  of  vaca- 
tion may  arrive  before  the  lesson  is  learned,  and  what  has 
been  learned  may  be  forgotten  during  the  time  of  vacation  ; 
but  still  the  impression  remains,  and  a  thing  once  learned 
is  easily  learned  again.  This  accounts  for  the  different 
talents  with  which  men  are  endowed,  and  for  their  propen- 
sities for  good  or  for  evil.  No  effort  is  lost,  every  cause 
creates  a  corresponding  effect,  no  favors  are  granted,  no 


THE  SCHOOL   OF  THE  OCCULTIST.  261 

injustice  takes  place.  Blind  to  bribes  and  deaf  to  appeals 
is  the  law  of  justice,  dealing  out  to  every  one  according  to 
his  merits  or  demerits  ;  but  he  who  has  no  selfish  desire 
for  reward,  and  no  cowardly  fear  of  punishment,  but  who 
dares  to  act  rightly  because  he  cannot  do  wrong,  identifies 
himself  with  the  law,  and  in  the  equilibrium  of  the  law  will 
he  find  his  Power. 

The  second  requirement  is 

TO  WILL. 

If  we  do  not  want  to  receive  the  truth  we  will  not  obtain  it, 
because  it  rests  in  the  spirit,  and  the  spirit  is  a  power  that 
exercises  the  universal  law  of  attraction ;  it  attracts  the 
mind  that  corresponds  to  its  vibrations,  and  is  repulsed  by 
discords. 

Men  believe  that  they  love  the  truth,  but  there  are  few 
that  desire  it.  They  love  only  welcome  truths  ;  those  that 
are  unwelcome  are  usually  rejected.  Opinions  which  flatter 
the  vanity  and  are  in  harmony  with  accustomed  modes  of 
thought  are  accepted ;  strange  truths  are  often  regarded 
with  astonishment  and  driven  away  from  the  door.  Men 
are  often  afraid  of  that  which  they  do  not  know,  and,  not 
knowing  the  truth,  they  are  afraid  to  receive  it.  They  ask 
new  truths  for  their  passports,  and  if  they  do  not  bear  the 
stamp  of  some  fashionable  authority  they  are  looked  upon 
as  illegitimate  children,  and  are  not  permitted  to  grow. 

How  shall  we  learn  to  love  the  truth  ?  By  being  obe- 
dient to  the  law.  How  can  we  become  co?ivinced  of  its  good- 
ness ?  By  doing  our  duty.  Irrational  man  asks  for  external 
proofs,  but  true  man  requires  no  other  certificate  for 
the  truth  but  its  own  appearance.  There  can  be  no  differ- 
ence between  speculative  and  practical  knowledge ;  '  an 
opinion  based  upon  mere  speculation  is  no  knowledge. 
Knowledge  can  only  be  attained  by  speculation,  if  the 
speculation  is  accompanied  by  experience.  Those  who 
want  to  know  the  truth  must  practise  it ;  those  who  cannot 
practise  it  will  not  know  it ;  speculations  without  practice 
can  only  lead  to  doubtful  opinions. 

Man  can  have  no  actual  desire  for  a  thing  which  he  does 
neither  feel  nor  see,  and  which  he  therefore  not  knows. 
How  can  we  love  a  thing  of  which  we  know  not  whether  it 


262  WILL. 

is  good  or  evil,  whether  it  will  benefit  or  injure  us,  if  we 
approach  it.  Many  followers  of  the  church  profess  to  love 
God,  and  have  not  the  remotest  conception  of  what  God 
is.  Many  profess  to  love  Christ,  and  despise  and  reject 
Him  if  they  meet  Him  in  man.  Such  a  "  love  of  God  and 
Christ "  is  a  pretence  and  an  illusion,  it  exists  only  in  the 
brain  and  not  in  the  heart.  We  can  only  love  that  of  which 
we  know  that  it  is  good,  because  we  feel  it  to  be  so ;  and 
where  else  could  we  feel  the  presence  of  God  except  within 
our  own  heart  ?  To  learn  to  desire  God  means  therefore 
to  enter  a  mental  state  in  which  we  can  feel  the  presence 
of  the  Divine  principle  within  our  own  heart ;  to  learn  to 
know  God  means  to  learn  to  know  our  own  Divine  Self. 

To  enter  a  state  in  which  universal  truth  may  come  to 
our  direct  perception,  no  intellectual  labor  but  spiritual 
development  is  required.  We  must  become  master  of  our 
own  thoughts  and  desires,  and  be  able  to  sink  our  thoughts 
into  the  invisible  centre  of  All. 

We  do  not  have  far  to  go  in  search  of  that  Centre,  it 
exists  within  the  heart  of  each  human  being ;  for  the  soul 
of  each  human  being  is  an  exact  image  of  the  soul  of  the 
universe,  and  as  the  great  Spiritual  Sun  exists  in  the  centre 
of  the  Universe,  likewise  the  image  of  that  sun  exists  within 
the  heart  of  each  human  being.  If  we  only  permit  this 
divine  light  to  shine  within  our  own  soul,  we  will  know  the 
truth,  for  the  truth  is  only  one,  and  the  one  existing  within 
our  own  heart  is  identical  with  the  one  existing  within  the 
centre  of  the  universe. 

If  we  desire  to  see  the  pure  light  of  the  terrestrial  sun, 
the  atmosphere  must  not  be  obscured  by  clouds  and  fogs  ; 
if  we  desire  to  see  the  eternal  light  of  the  spiritual  Sun 
existing  within  the  heart,  the  realm  of  the  soul  must  not  be 
clouded  by  material  desires.  We  must  by  the  power  of 
our  will  dispel  the  fogs  and  mists  created  by  the  vapors 
coming  from  the  material  plane.  We  must  become  our  own 
masters  in  our  own  house.  To  do  this  requires  effort  and 
perseverance,  and  the  average  investigator,  finding  it  easier 
to  accept  ready-made  creeds,  than  to  educate  his  spiritual 
faculties,  usually  remains  satisfied  with  his  own  supersti- 
tions, or  argues  himself  into  a  belief  that  spiritual  causes 
cannot  be  known. 

Men  do  not  seriously  desire  the  truth,  because  they 
cannot  estimate  what  they  do  not  know,  and  they  do  not 


THE   CENTRE.  263 

know  it  because  they  cannot  reach  what  they  do  not 
seriously  desire.  Mere  curiosity,  or  a  wish  to  learn  to 
know  the  truth  at  our  leisure  without  neglecting  the  claims 
of  the  elementary  kingdom  composing  our  soul,  cannot 
attract  the  spirit.  Man  is  chained  to  the  kingdom  of  the 
Elementals  with  a  thousand  chains.  The  inhabitants  of  his 
soul  appear  before  him  in  their  most  seductive  forms.  If 
they  are  driven  away  they  change  their  masks  and  renew 
their  petitions  in  some  other  form.  But  the  chains  by 
which  man  is  bound  are  forged  by  his  own  desire.  His 
vices  do  not  cling  to  him  against  his  will.  He  clings  to 
them,  and  they  will  desert  him  as  soon  as  he  rises  up  in 
the  strength  and  dignity  of  his  manhood  and  shakes  them 
off.  There  is  a  method,  by  which  we  may,  without  any 
active  effort,  obtain  that  which  we  desire,  and  this  is  that 
we  should  desire  nothing  except  what  the  divine  spirit 
desires  within  our  own  heart. 

The  third  requirement  is,  therefore, 

TO  DARE. 

We  must  dare  to  act  and  throw  off  our  desires,  instead  of 
waiting  patiently  until  they  desert  us.  We  must  dare  to 
tear  ourselves  loose  from  accustomed  habits,  irrational 
thoughts,  and  selfish  considerations,  and  from  everything 
that  is  an  impediment  to  our  recognition  of  the  truth.  We 
must  dare  to  conquer  ourselves  and  to  conquer  the  world  ; 
dare  to  face  the  ridicule  of  the  ignorant,  the  vilifications  of 
bigots,  the  haughtiness  of  the  vain,  the  contempt  of  the 
learned,  and  the  envy  of  the  small ;  dare  to  proclaim  the 
truth  if  it  is  useful  to  do  so,  and  dare  to  be  silent  if  taunted 
by  the  fool.*  We  must  dare  to  face  poverty,  suffering,  and 
isolation,  and  dare  to  act  under  all  circumstances  according 
to  our  highest  conception  of  truth. 

All  this  might  be  easily  accomplished,  if  the  will  of  man 
were  free  ;  if  man  were  his  own  master  and  not  bound  with 
the  chains  of  the  soul ;  but  man  is  a  relative  being,  and  as 
such  his  will  can  only  be  free  to  a  certain  extent ;  it  can 
only  enjoy  a  relative  liberty  as  long  as  it  is  a  slave  to 
desire.  Man  may  perform  certain  acts  and  leave  others 


*  Prov.  xxvi.  4, 


264  DARING. 

undone  if  he  chooses ;  but  his  internal  desire  determines 
his  choice,  and  man  acts  in  obedience  to  it.  A  man  who 
is  free  of  external  desires  has  the  power  to  will  that  which 
his  nature  does  not  desire,  and  not  to  will  that  to  which  the 
desires  of  that  nature  attract  him. 

To  make  the  will  free,  action  is  required,  and  each  action 
strengthens  the  will,  and  each  unselfish  deed  increases  its 
power.  In  imity  is  power.  To  render  our  will  powerful 
we  may  unite  it  with  the  will  of  others,  and  if  the  desires  of 
the  others  are  different  from  ours,  our  will  thereby  becomes 
free  from  our  own  desires.  In  action  is  strength.  If  we 
oppose  our  will  to  the  will  of  others,  by  acting  against  the 
desires  of  others,  we  increase  its  strength,  but  we  become 
thereby  isolated  from  others. 

There  is  only  one  universal  power  of  will,  because 
divinity  is  a  whole.  It  may  act  in  the  direction  for  good 
and  in  the  direction  for  evil ;  but  its  action  for  good  is  the 
strongest,  because  it  emanates  from  the  eternal  source  of 
all  good.  This  will-power  being  the  collective  sum  of  all 
will-power  in  the  universe,  is  the  power  that  moves  the 
worlds.  It  is  necessarily  immeasurably  stronger  than  any 
individual  will-power  can  possibly  be,  because  the  whole  is 
larger  than  the  part,  and  the  infinite  greater  than  the 
finite.  He  who  unites  his  own  will  with  the  universal  will 
becomes  powerful ;  he  who  exercises  his  will  by  opposing 
it  may  become  strong,  but  while  the  former  attains  eternal 
life  with  the  whole,  the  latter  causes  his  own  destruction, 
as  he  will  finally  be  crushed  by  the  opposing  force,  which 
is  immeasurably  stronger  than  he.  Dare  to  obey  the  Law, 
and  you  will  become  your  own  Master,  and  the  Lord  over 
all. 

Philosophical  courage  is  a  quality  for  which  men  are 
respected  everywhere.  The  Red  Indian  prides  himself  at 
his  indifference  to  physical  pain,  the  Fakir  undergoes 
tortures  to  strengthen  his  will-power,  the  civilized  soldier 
is  eager  to  prove  his  contempt  for  danger,  and  to  measure 
his  strength  with  the  strength  of  the  enemy.  But  there  are 
deeds  to  perform  that  require  a  courage  of  a  superior  kind. 
It  requires  only  momentary  outbursts  of  power  or  tempor- 
ary efforts  of  will  to  perform  a  daring  deed  on  the  physical 
plane,  and  after  it  is  accomplished  It  is  followed  by  satis- 
faction and  rest ;  but  in  the  realm  of  the  soul  there  is 
no  rest  for  those  who  have  not  succeeded  in  eradicating 


SILENCE.  265 

that  which  is  evil.  A  continual  and  unremitted  strain  is 
needed  to  keep  the  emotions  subjected,  and  this  strain  is 
rendered  still  more  fatiguing  by  the  circumstance  that  it 
depends  entirely  on  your  own  will  whether  or  not  we  will 
endure  it,  and  that  if  we  relax  the  bridle  and  allow  our 
emotions  to  run  free  and  disorderly,  sensual  gratification 
is  the  result.  It  requires  a  courage  of  the  highest  order  to 
act  under  all  circumstances  in  obedience  to  the  law.  Long 
may  the  battle  last,  but  each  victory  strengthens  the  will  ; 
each  act  of  submission  renders  it  more  powerful,  until  at 
last  the  combat  is  ended,  and  over  the  battlefield  where 
the  remnants  of  the  slain  desires  are  exposed  to  the 
decomposing  action  of  the  elements  hovers  the  spiritual 
eagle,  rising  towards  the  sun  and  enjoying  the  serene 
tranquility  of  the  ethereal  realm.  The  only  true  way  to 
obtain  courage  is  to  rise  above  fear. 

Metals  are  purified  by  fire  and  the  spirit  is  purified  by 
suffering.  Only  when  the  molten  mass  has  cooled  can  we 
judge  of  the  progress  of  the  purification ;  only  when  a 
victory  over  the  emotions  is  gained,  and  peace  follows  after 
the  struggle,  can  the  spirit  rest  to  contemplate  and  realize 
the  beauty  of  eternal  truth.  In  vain  will  men  attempt  to 
listen  to  the  voice  of  truth  during  the  clash  of  contending 
desires  and  opinions,  only  in  the  silence  that  follows  the 
storm  can  the  voice  of  truth  be  heard.* 

The  fourth  requirement  to  the  recognition  of  the  truth  is 
therefore 

TO  BE  SILENT. 

This  means  that  we  must  not  allow  any  desire  to  speak  in 
our  heart,  but  only  the  voice  of  the  truth  ;  because  the  truth 
is  a  jealous  goddess  and  suffers  no  rivals.  He  who  selects 
wisdom  for  the  bride  of  his  soul  must  woo  her  with  his 
whole  heart  and  dismiss  the  concubines  from  the  bridal 
chamber  of  his  soul.  He  must  clothe  her  in  the  purity  of 
his  affection  and  ornament  her  with  the  gold  of  his  love, 
for  wisdom  is  modest,  she  does  not  adorn  herself  but  waits 
until  she  is  adorned  by  her  lover.  She  cannot  be  bought 
with  money  nor  with  promises,  her  love  is  only  gained  by 
acts  of  devotion.  Science  is  only  the  handmaid  of  wisdom, 

*"  Light  on  the  Path,"  by  M.  C. 


266  MEDITATION. 

and  he  who  makes  love  to  the  servant  will  be  rejected  by 
the  mistress  ;  but  he  who  sacrifices  his  whole  being  to 
wisdom  will  be  united  with  her. 

The  Bhagwat  Gita,  says  :  "  He  who  thinketh  constantly 
of  me,  his  mind  undiverted  by  any  other  object,  will  find 
me.  I  will  at  all  times  be  easily  found  by  a  constant 
devotion  to  me." 

The  Christian  Mystic,  Jacob  Boehme,  an  illuminated 
seer,  expressed  the  same  truth,  in  the  form  of  a  dialogue 
between  the  master  and  his  disciple,  as  follows  : 

The  disciple  said  to  the  master  :  "  How  can  I  succeed 
in  arriving  at  that  supersensual  life,  in  which  I  may  see 
and  hear  the  Supreme  ?  " 

The  master  answered  :  "  If  you  can  only  for  a  moment 
enter  in  thought  into  the  formless,  where  no  creature 
resides,  you  will  hear  the  voice  of  the  Supreme." 

The  disciple  said  :  "  Is  this  far  or  near  ?  " 

The  master  answered  :  "  It  is  in  yourself,  and  if  you  can 
command  only  for  one  hour  the  silence  of  your  desires, 
you  will  hear  the  inexpressible  words  of  the  Supreme.  If 
your  own  will  and  self  are  silent  in  you,  the  perception  of 
the  eternal  will  be  manifest  through  you  ;  God  will  hear, 
and  see,  and  talk  through  you  ;  your  own  hearing,  desiring 
and  seeing  prevents  you  to  see  and  hear  the  Supreme."* 

These  directions  are  identical  with  those  prescribed  by 
the  practice  of  Raja-Yog,  by  which  the  holy  men  of  the 
East  unite  their  minds  with  the  formless  and  infinite. 
Religious  services  are  calculated  to  elevate  the  mind  into 
the  region  of  the  formless,  and,  in  fact,  all  religious  systems 
can  have  no  other  legitimate  object  than  to  teach  methods 
how  to  attain  such  states.  Churches  are  not  worthy 
the  name  of  church,  which  means  a  spiritual  union,  unless 
they  serve  as  schools  in  which  the  science  of  uniting  one- 
self with  the  eternal  fountain  of  life  is  practically  taught. 
But  it  is  easier  to  allow  one's  mind  to  revel  among  the 
multifarious  forms  and  attractions  of  the  material  plane, 
and  to  listen  to  the  Syren  song  of  the  Elementals  inhabit- 
ing the  soul,  than  to  enter  the  apparently  dark  caves  of  the 
formless,  where  at  first  no  sound  is  heard  in  the  eternal 
stillness  of  night  but  the  echo  of  our  voice,  but  where  alone 
true  power  resides.  It  is  easier  to  let  our  minds  be  con- 

*  Jacob  Boehme  :  "  Theosophical  Writings,"  book  vi. 


THE  AWAKENING.  267 

trolled  by  thoughts  that  come  and  go  without  our  bidding 
than  to  hold  fast  to  a  thought  and  command  it  to  remain, 
and  to  close  the  doors  of  the  soul  to  all  thoughts  that  have 
not  the  seal  of  truth  impressed  upon  their  forms  ;  and  this 
is  the  reason  why  the  majority  of  men  and  women  prefer 
the  illusions  of  finite  life  to  the  eternal  realities  of  the 
iufinite — why  they  prefer  sufferings  to  happiness,  and 
ignorance  to  a  knowledge  of  truth. 

To  be  silent  means  to  let  no  other  language  be  heard 
within  the  heart  but  the  language  of  God,  to  listen  to  the 
voice  of  Divine  Wisdom  speaking  within  the  heart ;  but 
this  state  will  be  arrived  at  only  after  the  storm  of  the 
passions,  the  battle  of  desires,  and  the  conflict  of  the 
intellectual  forces  is  over. 

He  who  has  learned  to  know,  to  will,  to  dare,  and  to  be 
silent,  is  upon  the  true  path  that  leads  to  immortal  life,  and 
will  know  how  to  practise  interior  meditation  or  yog;  but 
by  those  who  move  merely  in  the  sensual  plane,  or  whose 
minds  are  concentrated  upon  external  things  of  the  physical 
or  intellectual  plane,  even  the  meaning  of  these  words  will 
not  be  understood. 

Various  instructions  are  given  in  the  books  of  the  East 
in  regard  to  the  practice  of  this  interior  meditation,  but 
they  all  teach  the  same  thing,  namely,  a  concentration  of 
man's  higher  consciousness  to  a  single  point  within  his  own 
centre. 

In  the  Oupnekhata  the  following  directions  are 
given  : — 

"  Breathe  deep  and  slow,  and  concentrate  your  unwaver- 
ing attention  into  the  midst  of  your  body,  into  the  region 
of  the  heart.  The  lamp  in  your  body  will  then  be  protect- 
ed against  wind  and  motion,  and  your  whole  body  will 
become  illuminated.  You  must  withdraw  all  your  senses 
within  yourself  like  a  turtle,  which  withdraws  its  members 
within  the  shell.  Enter  your  own  heart  and  guard  it,  and 
Brahma  will  enter  it  like  a  fire  or  a  stroke  of  lightning.  In 
the  midst  of  a  big  fire  in  your  heart  will  be  a  small  flame, 
and  in  the  centre  of  it  will  be  Atma." 

Herocarcas,  an  abbot  of  a  convent  upon  the  mount 
Athos,  gives  to  his  monks  the  following  directions  to 
acquire  the  power  of  true  clairvoyance  :  "Sit  alone  in  your 
room,  after  having  the  door  locked  against  intrusion,  con- 
centrate your  mind  upon  the  region  of  the  navel  and  try  to 


268  SOUWD. 

see  with  that.  Try  to  find  the  seat  of  your  heart  (sink 
your  consciousness  into  your  heart),  where  the  centre  of 
power  resides.  At  first  you  will  find  nothing  but  darkness  ; 
but  if  you  continue  for  days  and  nights  without  fatigue, 
you  will  see  light,  and  experience  inexpressible  things. 
When  the  spirit  once  recognizes  his  own  centre  in  the 
heart,  he  will  know  what  he  never  knew  before,  and  there 
will  be  nothing  hidden  before  his  sight,  whether  in  heaven 
nor  upon  the  earth." 

Let  us  compare  with  these  statements  one  received  from 
an  unlearned  person,  who  possesses  the  power  to  see 
interior  truths.  He  says  :  "  Sink  your  thoughts  downward 
into  the  centre  of  your  being,  and  you  will  find  there  a 
germ  which,  if  continually  nourished  by  pure  and  holy 
thoughts,  will  grow  into  a  power  that  will  extend  and  ramify 
through  all  parts  of  your  body.  Your  hands  and  feet  and 
your  interior  organs  will  become  alive  ;  a  sun  will  appear 
within  your  heart  and  illuminate  your  whole  being.  In  this 
light  you  will  see  the  the  present,  the  past,  and  the  future, 
and  by  its  aid  you  will  attain  the  true  knowledge  of  self."  * 

Man  is  himself  a  thought,  pervading  the  ocean  of  Mind. 
If  his  soul  is  in  perfect  accord  with  the  truth,  the  truth  will 
unite  itself  with  his  soul.  A  talented  musician  will  not 
need  a  scientific  calculation  of  the  vibrations  of  sound  to 
know  whether  a  melody  which  he  hears  is  melodious  or 
not ;  a  person  who  is  one  with  the  truth  will  recognize 
himself  in  everything  that  is  true. 

What  is  sound  ?  If  everything  is  fundamentally  will, 
sound  can  be  nothing  else  but  a  manifestation  of  will. 
Will  may  act  either  relatively,  unconsciously,  or  consciously, 
or  even  in  a  self-conscious  state.  Sound  manifests  the 
same  attributes.  The  noise  made  by  the  knock  of  a  hammer 
carries  with  itself  no  emotions  or  intelligence  ;  it  can 
awaken  them  only  by  means  of  association  of  ideas.  But 
a  piece  of  music  or  a  song  carries  with  it  the  qualities 
with  which  it  has  been  endowed  by  the  musician  or  the 
singer.  Music  is  a  language  that  speaks  to  the  heart 
without  any  previous  agreement  as  to  what  sounds  are 
meant  to  signify  certain  words,  as  is  done  by  telegraphing. 

Music  produces  in  every  receptive  soul  the  sentiments 

*  J.  Kerning,  "  Key." 


KEELEY  MOTOR.  269 

that  its  melodies  are  intended  to  represent ;  and  the  more 
the  music  is  a  true  representation  of  these  sentiments,  the 
more  will  this  be  the  case.  Likewise  there  is  sound  carrying 
intelligence.  The  words  spoken  by  a  person  awaken 
corresponding  thoughts  in  the  mind  of  an  intelligent  person, 
and  they  will  be  impressive  in  proportion  as  they  are  true. 
If  he  who  tells  a  lie  does  not  at  least  for  the  time  being 
imagine  it  to  be  true,  his  words  will  act  at  best  upon  the 
imagination,  but  not  upon  the  will.  A  good  actor  knows 
that  he  must  imagine  himself  to  be  the  person  whose  part 
he  plays,  if  he  wants  to  produce  the  desired  effect.  Intelli- 
gent speech  carries  with  it  the  power  to  induce  intelligent 
thoughts  in  an  intelligent  being,  as  the  sunshine  carries 
with  it  life  to  the  seeds  in  the  soil.  There  is  a  still  higher 
form  of  sound ;  it  is  not  known  to  everybody.  It  is  the 
self-conscious  divine  word,  that  speaks  within  the  heart  of 
the  awakened. 

The  spirit  is  like  a  breath.  To  the  eloquent  speaker, 
being  inspired  by  the  truth  of  what  he  says,  words  will 
come  without  consideration ;  they  form  themselves  in  his 
soul  and  not  in  his  brain.  In  him  who  is  conscious  of 
speaking  the  truth,  it  is  not  so  much  the  man  that  speaks, 
as  rather  the  truth  speaking  through  him,  and  he  may 
inspire  his  hearers  with  his  own  sentiments,  even  if  they  do 
not  understand  his  language,  because  the  will  emanating 
from  him  is  endowed  with  his  own  emotional  attributes. 

Every  sound  is  vitalized,  if  it  comes  from  a  living  source ; 
but  it  can  have  no  higher  vitality  than  the  source  from 
which  it  originates.  A  sound  produced  by  the  striking  of 
a  fiddle  bow  upon  a  tuning  fork  can  manifest  no  higher 
consciousness  than  that  of  the  tuning  fork,  no  matter  how 
it  is  treated  mechanically.  A  merely  mechanical  noise 
cannot  produce  living  effects,  no  more  than  a  piece  of  dead 
wood  cause  a  tree  to  grow  in  the  soil.  It  cannot  be  the 
carrier  of  life,  unless  it  comes  from  a  living  being. 

The  attempts  that  have  been  made  to  "  vitalize  "  sound 
by  merely  mechanical  means,  and  to  cause  it  to  act  with 
life  and  intelligence,  have  failed  on  account  of  a  misunder- 
standing of  that  fundamental  law  of  nature,  according  to 
which  forms  do  not  produce  principles,  but  are  merely 
vehicles  or  instruments  for  their  manifestation.  If  I  want  to 
vitalize  anything,  I  can  only  vitalize  it  with  my  own  vitality, 
having  no  other  vitality  at  my  command,  nor  can  I  cause 
the  universal  principle  of  life  to  vitalize  anything  accord- 


270  LANGUAGE  OF  NATURE. 

ing  to  my  will,  unless  I  have  obtained  command  over  it  by 
becoming  divine.  Everybody  is  continually  "  vitalizing" 
himself  and  the  words  which  he  speaks;  but  only  a  self- 
conscious  divine  spirit  could  spiritualize  inanimate  things. 

The  word  of  God,  being  God  itself,  can  vitalize  sound. 
It  is  the  creative  Power  in  the  universe.  He  in  whom  the 
divinity  has  not  become  self-conscious  cannot  command 
that  power.  There  is,  therefore,  no  danger  that  the  world 
would  be  exploded,  if  "  the  Adepts  were  to  let  the  secret 
out  as  to  how  the  trick  is  done."  Such  a  revelation  would 
be  as  useless  to  mankind  as  to  tell  a  beggar  how  he  could 
invest  his  money,  if  he  had  any  to  invest. 

The  will  of  a  person  may  "  vitalize  "  apparently  inanimate 
objects,  as  is  often  done  at  spiritistic  seances  ;  but  in  that 
case  it  is  accomplished  by  its  action  upon  living  invisible 
beings,  and  without  any  conscious  action  of  the  medium. 
Therefore,  the  wonders  of  the  mechanical  application  of 
living  sound,  if  any  such  have  ever  been  performed,  can  be 
due  only  to  mediumship. 

To  act  consciously  and  intelligently  upon  the  elemental 
powers  of  nature  requires  the  possession  of  an  intelligent 
and  self-conscious  power,  the  magic  power  of  the  (spiritual) 
will  of  an  Adept.  Merely  mechanical  combinations  can 
produce  nothing  but  merely  mechanical  results. 

Natural  forces  are  subject  to  natural  law,  and,  therefore, 
intellectual  man,  acting  in  accordance  with  natural  law, 
can  make  them  subservient  to  his  purposes,  by  establish- 
ing the  conditions  under  which  they  will  act ;  but  the  divine 
Word  of  God  is  above  nature,  and  above  any  conditions 
that  man  can  establish.  Man  can  govern  it  in  no  other 

*  It  is  an  absolute  impossibility  to  transform  matter  into  motion  or 
sound,  or  sound  into  life  or  spirit ;  because  the  seven  forms  of  eternal 
nature  are  eternal  and  unchangeable.  All  that  can  be  changed  is  their 
mode  of  action.  Darkness  cannot  be  changed  into  light,  although  it 
may  be  penetrated  by  it ;  neither  does  a  red-hot  iron  change  into  light, 
although  light  becomes  manifest  therein  by  means  of  the  heat.  •*  Each 
of  the  original  forms  of  eternal  nature  retains  forever  its  own  centre." 
("  Jacob  Boehme."  «  Threefold  Life.") 

It  is  true  that  each  of  the  seven  principles  contains  potentially  the 
other  six,  and  that  the  higher  may  be  awakened  or  <«  liberated  "  in  the 
lower  ;  but  this  can  only  be  done  by  the  action  of  the  higher  inducing 
the  corresponding  latent  higher  principle  to  become  active  within  the 
lower.  Merely  mechanical  motion  cannot  call  life  or  consciousness  into 
action  in  a  form,  without  the  action  of  a  living  and  conscious  power  to 
act  upon  the  life  and  consciousness  latent  therein. 


UNIVERSAL   LANGUAGE.  271 

way,  than  by  becoming  one  with  divine  Law  ;  but  then  he 
ceases  to  be  a  man,  and  becomes  a  God,  governing  his  own 
self  and  all  the  laws  of  his  nature. 

Every  form  in  nature  is  a  symbol  of  an  idea  and  repre- 
sents a  sign  or  a  letter.  A  succession  of  such  symbols 
forms  a  language,  and  the  totality  of  all  forms  in  nature  is 
the  language  of  nature.  He  who  is  a  true  child  of  nature, 
that  means  to  say,  he  whose  will  is  pure  and  whose  mind 
free  of  error,  will  understand  the  language  of  nature  and 
know  the  character  of  everything.  His  mind  will  be  like 
a  clear  mirror,  wherein  the  attributes  of  natural  things  are 
reflected  and  enter  the  field  of  his  consciousness. 

Such  a  language  means  a  radiation  of  the  essence  of 
things  into  the  centre  of  the  human  mind,  and  a  radiation 
from  that  centre  into  the  universal  ocean  of  mind.  Man 
in  a  state  of  purity,  being  an  image  and  an  external  expres- 
sion of  the  highest  principle,  is  able  to  reflect  and  repro- 
duce the  highest  truth  in  its  original  purity,  and  man's 
expressions  ought,  therefore,  to  be  a  perfect  reproduction  or 
echo  of  the  impressions  which  he  receives  ;  but  average 
man  being  immersed  in  matter,  as  a  result  of  a  combination 
of  principles  on  a  lower  scale  of  evolution,  receives  the 
pure  original  rays  only  in  a  state  of  refraction,  and  can 
therefore  reproduce  them  only  in  an  imperfect  condition. 
He  has  wandered  away  from  the  sun  of  truth,  and  behold- 
ing it  from  a  distance  it  appears  to  him  only  as  a  small  star, 
that  may  perhaps  vanish  from  sight.  Everything  in  Nature 
has  its  name,  and  he  who  has  the  power  to  call  a  tiling  by 
its  proper  name  can  make  it  subservient  to  his  will.  But 
the  proper  name  of  a  thing  is  not  the  arbitrary  name  given 
to  it  by  man,  but  the  expression  of  the  totality  of  its 
powers  and  attributes,  because  the  powers  and  attributes 
of  each  being  are  intimately  connected  with  its  means 
of  expression,  and  between  both  exists  the  most  exact 
proportion  in  regard  to  measure,  time  and  condition. 

There  is  only  one  genuine  and  interior  language  for  man, 
the  symbols  of  which  are  natural  and  must  be  intelligible 
to  all,  and  this  language  is  a  direct  communication  of 
thought.  This  interior  language  is  the  parent  of  the 
exterior  one,  and  being  caused  by  the  radiation  of  the  first 
cause  which  is  unity,  and  with  whom  all  men  are  one,  it 
follows  that  if  the  original  irradiation  of  the  supreme  ray 
were  existing  in  all  men  in  its  original  purity,  all  men 
would  understand  the  same  interior  language,  and  also  the 


*72  UNIVERSAL   LANGUAGE. 

same  exterior  one,  because  the  latter  is  the  external  expres- 
sion of  the  former.  In  fact  this  original  language  still 
exists,  but  few  understand  it,  and  none  can  learn  it  except 
by  the  process  of  interior  evolution.  The  interior  lan- 
guage, breathes — so  to  say — spirit  ;  while  the  exterior  OIK 
is  only  a  succession  of  sounds. 

Each  word  in  that  interior  language  is  the  character  of 
the  thing  itself,  a  sign  and  symbol  which  men  cultivate 
unknowingly ;  each  is  the  centre  of  each  being,  and  who- 
ever reaches  that  centre  is  in  possession  of  the  word  and 
the  sign.  These  symbols  are  the  essential  characteristics 
which  distinguish  one  individual  or  group  of  individuals 
from  others ;  by  these  symbols  are  harmonious  souls 
attracted,  and  by  them  one  artist  recognizes  another  artist 
in  beholding  his  works  without  seeing  his  person. 

Men  have  ever  been  desiring  an  universal  language. 
Such  an  universal  language  cannot  be  arbitrarily  con- 
structed, or,  if  so  constructed,  would  be  more  difficult  to 
learn  than  any  other.  True  language  must  express  the 
harmony  of  the  soul  with  the  nature  of  things,  and  as  long 
as  there  is  distinction  of  character  and  disharmony  there 
can  be  no  universal,  harmonious  language. 

But  if  there  is  an  universal  language  of  nature,  there  is 
also  a  universal  language  of  God,  and  this  divine  language 
is  the  Word  of  God  that  speaks  within  the  heart  of  the 
awakened.  It  is  the  voice  of  the  Truth  itself  that  speaks 
the  Word,  and  if  you  cannot  hear  that  voice,  you  are  not 
called  to  teach,  because  it  would  then  not  be  the  truth 
speaking  through  your  mouth,  but  the  devil  of  your  own 
conceited  self.  He  who  lives  in  the  spirit  of  this  world  and 
in  his  sins,  cannot  truly  teach  any  one.  He  who  does  not 
live  in  the  spirit,  can  have  no  spiritual  life  and  cannot 
impart  it  to  others.  He  may  repeat  like  a  parrot  what  he 
has  heard,  or  tell  what  he  has  read  in  books.  He  may  say 
what  he  fancies  to  be  true,  but  he  is  not  an  instrument  for 
the  manifestation  of  truth. 

The  only  true  teacher  is  the  Truth,  the  Word,  the  Christ. 
He  says  :  "  I  am  the  light  of  the  world,  and  he  who  follows 
Me  will  have  life  eternal."  He  does  not  say  :  "  Go  to  this 
parson  or  that  professor  and  get  from  him  a  description  of 
what  he  thinks  how  the  light  is  supposed  to  look,"  but  He 
advises  us  to  follow  Kim  and  find  the  true  understanding 
ourselves.  Only  when  all  the  book-makers  on  theosophical 
subjects  will  be  in  possession  of  the  living  truth  and  of 


L  YING.  273 

self  knowledge  in  regard  to  what  they  are  writing  about, 
will  we  have  a  true  divine  science  ;  only  when  all  the  min- 
isters of  the  church  will  become  ministers  and  servants  of 
God,  so  that  God  may  speak  through  them,  will  we  have 
the  true  religion  taught. 

There  is  a  threefold  expression  of  the  divine  principle  ; 
a  physical,  and  intellectual,  and  a  divine  word.  The  first 
is  the  language  of  nature,  the  second  the  language  of  art, 
the  third  one  is  power.  Each  thought  is  represented  by  a 
certain  allegorical  sign  ;  each  being  is  a  characteristic 
symbol  and  living  exterior  image  of  its  interior  state. 
Each  body  is  the  symbol  of  an  invisible  and  corresponding 
power,  and  Man,  in  whom  the  highest  powers  are  contained, 
is  the  most  noble  symbol  of  nature,  the  first  and  most 
beautiful  letter  in  the  alphabet  of  earth.  For  every  thought 
there  is  an  outward  expression,  and  if  we  have  a  thought 
which  we  cannot  express  by  symbols,  it  does  not  follow 
that  such  symbols  do  not  exist,  but  that  we  are  unac- 
quainted with  them.  A  word  or  a  language  is  the  expres- 
sion of  thought,  and  to  be  perfect  it  must  give  perfect 
expression  to  the  thought  it  is  intended  to  convey.  By 
giving  a  false  expression  to  thought  the  power  of  language 
is  lost.  In  our  present  state  of  civilization  words  are  often 
used  more  for  the  purpose  of  concealing  than  revealing 
thought.  Lying  is  therefore  disgraceful,  and  involves  a 
loss  of  power  and  subsequent  degradation.  To  give  pure 
and  perfect  expression  to  thought  is  White  Magic ;  to  act 
upon  the  imagination  so  as  to  create  false  impressions  is 
witchcraft,  deception  and  falsehood.  Such  witchcraft  is 
practised  every  day  and  almost  in  every  station  of  life, 
from  the  priest  in  the  pulpit  who  wheedles  his  audience 
into  a  belief  that  he  or  his  church  possesses  the  keys  of 
heaven,  down  to  the  merchant  who  cheats  with  his  goods, 
and  to  the  old  maid  who  secures  a  husband  by  the  means 
of  artificial  teeth  and  false  hair;  down  to  the  physician 
who  makes  a  living  by  exciting  a  morbid  imagination  in 
his  patients  and  persuading  them  that  they  are  "  really 
sick."  Such  practices  are  publicly  denounced  and  silently 
followed  ;  they  will  lead  to  a  universal  disappearance  of 
faith  and  trust,  they  will  necessarily  lead  to  active  evil  and 
bring  destruction  upon  the  nation  that  allows  them  to 
grow ;  because,  as  the  power  of  good  increases  by  practice, 
in  the  same  manner  increases  the  power  of  evil. 

Man's  mission  is  to  do  good ;  that  means  to  do  that 


274         Y&E  SECRET  OF  BEAUTY  AND   YOUTH. 

which  is  most  useful  for  his  development.  By  doing  good, 
sensual  matter  is  eliminated  j  his  material  constitution  will 
become  more  and  more  refined,  and  his  interior  illuminated 
by  the  light  of  wisdom,  until  even  his  physical  body  may 
assume  the  attributes  of  the  astral  form,  and  man  himseli 
be  a  living  soul.  Therein  alone  lies  the  secret  of  eternal 
beauty  and  youth,  the  true  Elixir  of  Life.  By  doing  evil 
he  attracts  to  himself  the  unintelligent  and  material  prin- 
ciples of  Nature,  the  elements  of  evil ;  his  higher  principles 
become  more  and  more  material  and  heavy  until,  dragged 
into  the  mire  of  matter  by  his  own  weight,  he  is  unable 
to  rise  to  the  light,  he  becomes  metaphysically  petrified, 
and  his  power  of  intuition  lost. 

Man's  actions  are  his  writings.  By  putting  his  thoughts 
into  action,  he  expresses  them  and  records  them  in  the 
book  of  life.  He  writes  them  all  over  his  body  and  upon 
his  face  ;  they  will  appear  in  the  lustre  of  his  eyes  and  in 
the  grace  of  his  movements.  An  angelic  soul  cannot  fail 
to  impress  its  beauty  upon  the  form. 

Evil  acts  are  followed  by  a  degradation  of  character, 
producing  an  increased  corporification  of  sensual  elements 
and  an  incrustation  of  the  soul.  Selfish  desires  bleach  the 
hair  before  their  time,  bend  the  back,  wrinkle  the  face, 
and  are  the  cause  of  endless  ills  ;  for  all  of  which  there  is 
no  other  remedy  but  goodness  of  will. 

Good  actions  dissolve  existing  incrustations  produced 
by  evil  deeds,  and  re-establish  the  soul  in  its  former  con- 
dition. Repentance,  unless  followed  by  action,  is  useless. 
It  is  like  the  inflammation  caused  by  a  thorn  in  the  flesh  j 
it  causes  pain  by  gathering  to  its  assistance  the  vital  forces 
of  the  body ;  but  unless  the  thorn  is  removed  by  the 
active  intervention  of  the  individual,  an  abscess  and  putre- 
faction will  be  the  result.  Man's  acts  are  his  creations, 
they  give  form  to  his  thoughts.  The  motive  endows  them 
with  character,  the  will  furnishes  them  with  life. 

An  intention  is  useless  as  long  as  it  is  not  put  into  action. 
A  sign,  a  letter,  or  a  word  is  useles  unless  it  conveys  a  mean- 
ing which  is  realized  by  him  who  employs  it ;  a  symbol 
represents  an  idea,  but  no  symbol  can  be.  efficacious  unless 
it  is  intellectually  applied.  The  most  potent  magical  signc 
are  useless  to  him  who  cannot  realize  what  they  mean, 
while  to  him  who  is  well  versed  in  occult  science,  a  single 
point,  a  line,  or  any  geometrical  figure,  may  convey  a  vast 
meaning. 


THE   PENTAGRAM.  275 

Let  us  in  conclusion  attempt  to  explain  exoterically 
and  esoterically  a  few  of  the  most  important  magical  signs. 
We  may  succeed  to  a  certain  extent  in  giving  these  explan- 
ations in  words  ;  but  their  secret  spiritual  meaning  cannot 
be  expressed  in  language  ;  language  can  merely  attempt  to 
guide  the  reader  into  a  region  of  thought  in  which  he  may 
be  able  to  perceive  the  secret  meaning  with  the  eyes  of 
the  spirit : 


The  Pentagram  or  the  Five-pointed  Star. 

In  its  external  appearance  it  is  merely  a  geometrical 
figure,  found  everywhere  as  a  trade  mark  or  ornament. 
Superstitious  and  credulous  people  once  believed,  that  if 
it  were  drawn  upon  the  doors  of  their  houses  it  would 
protect  them  against  the  intrusions  of  the  sorcerer  and  the 
witch. 

In  its  esoteric  signification  the  four  lower  triangles 
represent  the  four  elementary  forces  of  nature,  and  as  the 
lines  of  each  triangle  are  intimately  connected  or  iden- 
tical with  those  forming  the  other  lines,  the  sum  of  these 
lines  forming  only  one  broken  line  without  any  interruption, 
likewise  the  four  lower  elements  are  intimately  connected 
and  identical  with  the  fifth  element,  the  quintessence  of  all 
things,  situated  at  the  top  of  the  figure  ;  representing  the 
head,  the  seat  of  intelligence  in  man. 

The  spiritual   knowledge   of  the   Five-pointed  Star  is 

i/-Jor»fi/-»ol     Mrifh     ifrc     r»r  ^f  fri^nl     anr\\ira  tmn          T  .p»f"     n 


276 


THE  SIX-POINTED  STAR. 


that  the  figure  is  always  well  drawn,  leaving  no  open 
space,  through  which  the  enemy  can  enter  and  disturb  the 
harmony  existing  in  the  Pentagon  in  the  centre.  Let  us 
keep  the  figure  always  upright,  with  the  topmost  triangle 
pointing  to*  heaven,  for  it  is  the  seat  of  reason  and  Wisdom, 
and  if  the  figure  is  reversed  ignorance  and  evil  will  be  the 
result.  Let  the  lines  be  straight,  so  that  all  the  triangles 
will  be  harmonious  and  of  equal  size,  so  that  the  symbol 
will  grow  without  any  abnormal  development  of  one  prin- 
ciple at  the  cost  of  another.  Then  the  lower  triangles 
will  send  their  quintessence  to  the  top,  the  seat  of 
intelligence,  and  the  top  will  supply  the  lower  triangles 
with  power  and  stimulate  them  to  grow.  Then  when  the 
time  of  probation  and  development  is  over,  the  triangles 
will  be  absorbed  by  the  Pentagon  in  the  centre  and  form 
into  a  square  within  the  invisible  circle  connecting  the 
apices  of  the  triangles,  and  our  destiny  will  be  fulfilled. 
There  is  no  higher  duty  for  man  to  perform,  than  to  keep 
the  Five-pointed  Spiritual  Star  intact;  it  will  be  his 
protection  during  life  and  his  salvation  in  the  hereafter. 


The  Double  Triangle  or  Six-pointed  Star. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  magical  signs,  and 
spiritually  applied  it  invests  man  with  power.     Its  exoteric 


THE  SIX-POINTED  STAR.  277 

meaning  is  merely  two  triangles  joined  together,  so  that 
they  partially  cover  each  other,  while  the  apex  of  one 
points  upwards  and  the  apex  of  the  other  downward.  It 
is  sometimes  surrounded  by  a  circle  or  by  a  snake  biting 
its  tail,  and  sometimes  with  a  tau  in  the  middle. 

Its  esoteric  meaning  is  very  extensive.  It  represents 
among  other  things  the  descent  of  spirit  into  matter,  and 
the  ascension  of  matter  to  spirit,  which  is  continually 
taking  place  within  the  circle  of  eternity,  represented  by 
the  snake,  the  symbol  of  wisdom.  Six  points  are  seen  in 
the  star,  but  the  seventh  cannot  be  seen  ;  nevertheless  the 
seventh  point  must  exist,  although  it  has  not  become 
manifest ;  because  without  a  centre  there  could  be  no  six- 
pointed  star,  nor  any  other  figure  existing. 

But  who  can  describe  in  words  the  secret  or  spiritual 
signification  of  the  six-pointed  star  and  its  invisible  centre  ? 
Who  can  intellectually  grasp  and  describe  the  beauties 
and  truths  which  it  represents?  Only  he  who  can  prac- 
tically apply  this  sign  will  grasp  its  full  meaning.  Knowing 
that  sign  practically  means  to  realize  the  nature  of  "  God  " 
and  the  laws  of  eternal  nature,  it  means  to  know  the 
process  of  evolution  and  involution  going  on  within  the 
microcosm  of  man  and  corresponding  to  those  of  the 
macrocosm  of  nature.  It  means  to  possess  the  power  to 
enter  within  one's  own  interior  soul  and  to  behold  the 
majesty  of  God  in  His  light.  It  means  to  forget  one's 
own  self  and  the  world  of  illusions  and  to  be  absorbed  in 
the  depths  of  eternity,  where  thought  ceases  and  only 
adoration  exists.  To  him  who  cannot  realize  within  his 
heart  the  divine  mysteries  of  nature,  the  blinding  light 
shining  from  the  centre  of  the  figure  has  no  existence  ;  but 
the  enlightened  sees  in  that  invisible  centre  the  great 
Spiritual  Sun,  the  heart  of  the  Cosmos,  from  which  Love 
and  Light  and  Life  are  radiating  for  ever.  He  sees  the 
seven  primordial  rays  of  that  light  shining  into  invisible 
matter  and  forming  visible  worlds  upon  which  men  and 
animals  live  and  die,  and  are  happy  or  discontented 
according  to  their  conditions.  He  sees  how  by  the  breath 
of  that  invisible  centre  suns  and  stars,  planets  and 
satellites  are  evolved,  and  how,  if  the  day  of  creation  of 
forms  is  over,  it  reabsorbs  them  into  its  bosom.  Verily 
the  six-pointed  star  is  a  most  potent  magical  sign,  and 
it  requires  the  wisdom  of  God  to  understand  it,  the 


278 


THE   CEOSS. 


omnipotent   power   of  the  One  Life  to  apply  it  to   its 
fullest  extent. 

In  its  external  signification  the  Christian  Cross  is  a 
symbol  of  torture  and  death.  The  sight  of  a  Cross  calls 
up  in  the  mind  of  the  pious  the  memory  of  a  historical 
event  said  to  have  taken  place  in  Palestine  some  two  thou- 
sand years  ago,  when  a  noble,  good  and  just  man  was 
executed  as  a  criminal  upon  a  cross.  If  the  element  of 
hate  is  predominating  in  the  soul  organization  of  the 
Christian  beholding  the  Cross,  its  sight  may  call  into  action 
very  "  unchristian  "  feelings  about  the  wickedness  of  the 
Jews. 


I  am  (Water). 
I. 


labeshah  (Earth). 
I.  __ 


Nour  (Fire). 


Rouach  (Air).  * 

rm 

The  Cross. 
The  internal   impression   caused  by  the   sight   of  the 

PMMMHHM 

*  Compare  J.  R.  Skinner,  "  Key  to  the  Hebrew -Egyptian  Mystery." 


7HE   CROSS.  279 

Cross  will  differ  according  to  the  standpoint  from  which  we 
behold  it. 

The  esoteric  meaning  of  the  Cross  is  very  ancient,  and 
the  Cross  has  existed  as  a  secret  symbol  probably  thousands 
of  years  ago  before  the  Christian  era.  The  philosophical 
Cross  represents,  among  other  things,  the  principle  of 
matter  and  that  of  spirit  intersecting  each  other,  forming  the 
quaternary  which,  when  it  is  inscribed  in  the  square,  forms 
the  basis  of  knowledge  for  the  Occultist.  The  horizontal 
line  represents  the  animal  principle,  for  the  heads  of  animals 
are  bowed  to  the  earth.  Man  is  the  only  being  upon  the 
globe  who  stands  erect  j  the  divine  principle  within  him 
keeps  him  upright,  and,  therefore,  the  perpendicular  line 
is  the  symbol  of  his  divinity.  The  cross  represents  Man, 
who  has  acted  against  the  law,  and  thereby  transformed 
himself  into  an  instrument  for  his  own  torture.  From  the 
beginning  of  his  existence,  as  a  ray  of  the  divine  spiritual 
Sun,  he  represented  a  perpendicular  line,  cutting  in  the 
direction  of  the  Universal  Will  of  the  source  from  which 
he  emanated  in  the  beginning.  As  the  distance  from  that 
source  increased,  and  as  the  ray  entered  into  matter,  it 
deviated  from  the  originally  straight  line  and  became 
broken,  creating  thereby  a  division  in  its  own  essence  and 
making  two  parts  out  of  the  original  Unity,  thus  establish- 
ing in  matter  a  separate  will,  acting  not  in  accordance  with 
universal  Law,  but  even  in  opposition  to  it.  If  man  follows 
again  the  dictates  of  the  Law,  he  will  then  be  taken  from 
the  Cross  and  resume  his  former  position.  "  To  take  up 
one's  Cross,"  means  to  sacrifice  one's  own  desires  to  the 
rule  of  divine  Law.  By  doing  so  the  evil  and  animal 
desires  remain  crucified  and  die,  but  the  divine  element  will 
be  resurrected  and  enter  the  Light. 

Who  can  know  the  practical  spiritual  signification  of  the 
Cross  except  he  who  has  been  nailed  thereon  and  suffered 
the  pangs  of  crucifixion  of  thought  and  desire  and  of  the 
mystic  death  ?  The  external  Christian  sees  only  the  wooden 
Cross,  but  he  whose  spiritual  perception  is  open  sees  the 
living  Cross  in  its  glory.  Sublimely  stands  that  Cross  upon 
the  mountain  of  the  living  Faith  ;  magnificent  is  its  aspect. 
Far  into  space  shines  the  light  radiating  from  its  centre  and 
illuminating  the  darkness  with  its  beneficent  rays,  which 
give  life  to  all  who  behold  it.  Rise,  oh  man,  up  to  your 


28o  1HE   CROSS. 

divine  dignity,  so  that  you  may  see  the  true  Cross,  the  true 
Light.  Not  the  dead  wooden  Cross,  the  emblem  of  igno- 
rance and  suffering,  nor  the  glittering  cross  made  of  brass, 
the  emblem  of  vanity,  sectarianism  and  superstition  :  but 
the  Living  Golden  Cross,  the  emblem  of  Wisdom  which 
each  true  Brother  of  the  Golden  and  Rosy  Cross  carries 
deeply  buried  within  his  own  heart.  This  Cross  is  the 
full-grown  Tree  of  Life  and  of  Knowledge,  bearing  the  fruits 
of  salvation  and  immortality,  the  dispenser  of  Life,  the  pro- 
tector against  evil.  He  who  knows  practically  the  true 
mystery  of  the  Cross  is  acquainted  with  the  highest  wisdom  ; 
he  who  is  adorned  with  the  true  Cross  is  safe  from  all 
danger.  Infinite  power  of  the  Cross  !  In  thee  is  Wisdom 
revealed.  Buried  deep,  deep  in  the  realm  of  Matter  is  thy 
foot,  teaching  us  Patience  ;  high,  high  into  heaven  reaches 
thy  crown,  teaching  us  Faith.  Lifted  by  Hope  and  ex- 
tended by  Charity  are  thy  arms,  Light  and  Sunshine 
surround  thee.  Link  upon  link  the  chain  of  creation 
encircles  the  Cross  ;  worlds  within  worlds,  forms  within 
forms,  illusions  upon  illusions  surround  it  like  clouds  and 
nebulous  mists  ;  but  in  the  Centre  is  the  Reality  in  which 
is  hidden  the  jewel  of  priceless  value,  theTV&M.  Let  the 
dew  of  heaven  which  comes  from  the  true  Cross  descend 
into  your  hearts  and  penetrate  into  your  soul  and  body,  so 
that  it  may  crystallize  into  form.  Then  will  the  darkness 
within  your  mind  disappear,  the  veil  of  matter  will  be  rent, 
and  before  your  spiritual  vision  will  stand  revealed  the 
angel  of  truth. 

The  present  material  age  is  ever  ready  to  reject  without 
examination  the  symbols  of  the  past  whose  meaning  it 
cannot  realize  because  it  knows  them  not.  Engaged  in 
the  pursuit  of  material  pleasures,  it  loses  sight  of  its  true 
interest,  and  exchanges  spiritual  wealth  for  worthless 
bawbles.  Losing  sight  of  his  destiny,  man  runs  after  a 
shadow,  while  others  embitter  their  lives  for  the  purpose  of 
propitiating  an  angry  God,  and  to  buy  from  him  happiness 
in  a  life  of  which  they  know  nothing.  Ruled  by  fear, 
many  bow  before  the  Moloch  of  superstition  and  ignorance, 
while  others  wilfully  shut  their  eyes  to  the  light  of  divine 
reason  and  madly  rush  into  the  arms  of  a  dead  and  cold 
material  science  to  perish  in  her  stony  embrace  ;  but  the 
wise, whose  far-seeing  perception  reaches  beyond  the  narrow 
circle  of  his  material  surroundings,  and  beyond  the  short 


THE    CROSS.  281 

span  of  time  which  embraces  his  life  on  earth,  knows  that 
it  is  in  his  own  power  to  control  his  future  destiny.  He 
raises  the  magic  wand  of  his  will  and  quiets  the  tempest 
raging  in  the  astral  plane.  The  emotions  which  were 
rushing  to  his  destruction  obey  him  and  execute  his  orders, 
and  he  walks  safely  upon  the  waters  under  whose  calm 
surface  is  hidden  the  abyss  of  death,  while  above  his  head 
shines  the  bright  constellation  formed  of  Truth,  Know- 
ledge and  Power,  whose  centre  is  Wisdom  and  whose 
germs  can  be  found  in  the  spiritual  self-consciousness  of 
every  human  being. 

THE  END. 


NDEX. 


Absolute,  40,  65,68,  74,  118,  129,  157,  165,  220,  237. 

Accord,  121. 

Adam,  32,  81,  120,  129. 

Adept,  75,  85,  91,  149,  174,,  188. 

Adonai,  136,  162. 

Adoration,  137,  156,  174,  253. 

After-life,  61,  94,  112,  145.  178, 181. 

Agrippa,  148. 

Alchemy,  56,  203,  213. 

Alcohol,  132,  218. 

Allegories,  27,86,  171,215,241,452. 

Ambition,  148. 

Animal  food,  132,  218. 

Animal  forms,  102,  140. 

Animals,  1 60,  218,  254. 

Apparitions,  169, 178. 

Aspirations,  loo. 

Asceticism,  36,  135. 

Associations,  loo. 

Astral  body,  80,  98,  151,  162,  166,  186. 

Astral  forms,  84,  90,  94,  98,  180,  259. 

Astral  light,  63,  104,  160,  171,  196,  201. 

Atheism,  74. 

Atma,  233,  242,  267. 

At-onement,  221,  240. 

Attraction,  72,  loo,  129,  144,  167,  191,  201,  250. 

Aura,  82,  132. 

Awakening,  267,  271. 

Beauty,  274. 

Belief,  227,  237. 

Bhagavad  Gita,  72,  252,  266. 


ii  INDEX. 

Bible,  28,  236,  244,  252. 

Black  Magic,  39,  84,  1 12,  190,  264. 

Blavatsky,  172. 

Blessing,  162. 

Blood,  98,  132. 

Boehme,  Jacob,  12,  35,  77,  So,  162,  194,  242,  252,  266, 

Brain,  208,  213. 

Builders,  215. 

Brahm,  69. 

Bulwer  Lytton,  86,  222. 

Capital  Punishment,  152,  196. 

Cause,  61. 

Centre,  84,  253,  262,  280. 

Ceremonies,  242. 

Change,  6l,  142,  183. 

Chaos,  6. 

Character,  59,  104,  218,  232. 

Charms,  131. 

Chemistry,  83,  204. 

Christ,  33,  42,  116,  129,  139,  234,  236. 

Creation,  55,  69,  207. 

Christianity,  47>235»  243- 

Church,  33,  75,  235,  240.  ->66. 

Clairvoyance,  84,  86,  149,  267. 

Colors,  83,  132. 

Communion,  221,  235,  242. 

Conscience,  45. 

Consciousness,  61,  63,  95,  128,  155,  157,  176,  187. 

Conversion,  243. 

Crime,  152,  198. 

Cross,  238,  278. 

Crucifixion,  238. 

Crystallization,  231. 

Curses,  162. 

Daring,  263. 

Darkness,  40. 

Death,  47,  61,  88,  160,  175,  178,  184, 189. 

Degradation,  TOO,  102,  189. 

Deism,  74. 


INDEX.  iii 


Delirium,  71. 

Delusions,  52,  67,  71. 

Demons,  90,  100. 

Desire,  37,  136,  220. 

Devil,  95,  loo,  160,  182,  200. 

Differentiation,  109. 

Dignity,  258. 

Diseases,  52,  115,  207. 

Disharmony,  124. 

Double,  85,  91,  169. 

Double  consciousness,  92,  169,  173. 

Double  triangle,  276. 

Doubt,  116,  222,  237. 

Dreams,  66,  148,  171. 

Drugs,  202. 

Dualism,  72. 

Dying,  116. 

Earth,  79,  166,  214. 

Ego,  34,  60,  159,  232. 

Elementals,  33,  86,91,  96,  151,  180,  259. 

Elements,  78,  86,  232. 

Elixir  of  life,  57,  118,  177,254. 

Emotions,  49,  83,  88,  112,  134,  215. 

Emanations,  83. 

Energy,  135,  176,  184. 

Epidemics,  122,  167. 

Evil,  251. 

Evolution,  212. 

Existence,  46,  62,  66,  157,  164, 166. 

Experience,  211,  261. 

Faith,  53,  101, 116,201,  222,  237. 

Fame,  147. 

Fakirs,  85,  203. 

Fall  of  Man,  90,  246. 

Father,  77,  237. 

"Faust,"  173,  245. 

Fear,  90,  147. 

Fichte,  233. 

Fiction,  28. 


iv  INDEX. 

Fire,  78,253. 

Five-pointed  star,  238,  275. 

Food, 217. 

Forgiveness,  3 1 ,  25 1 . 

Form,  37,  47,  58,  63,  76,  81,  94,  103,  140,  196,  231,  246. 

Freedom,  33,  49,  192,  205,  223,  231,  250. 

Fumigation,  148. 

Gautama  Buddha,  74,  143,  228,  233,  246,  252. 

Generation,  204. 

Germs.  35,  70. 

Ghosts,  85,  91,  98,  162. 

God,  22,  30,  39,  69,  73,  116.  139,  159,  174,  194,  207,  226,  236,  266. 

Gods,  74,  156,  225. 

Good,  249,  251. 

Goodness,  223. 

Grace,  238,  254. 

Gravitation,  128,  166. 

Growth,  38,  75,  89,  117,  220,  224,  230. 

Hades,  1 80,  1 86. 

Happiness,  41,43,  46,  135,  155,247. 

Harmony,  87,  120,215. 

Hate,  72,240. 

Haunted  houses,  162. 

Heart,  213. 

Heaven,  154. 

Hell,  154,  182. 

Hermes,  185,  233. 

Herocarcas,  267. 

Holy  Ghost,  77,  239. 

Hypnotism,  70,  150,  170. 

Hysteria,  88,  167. 

Ideal,  41,  75,  129. 

Ideas,  59. 

Idols,  156,  243. 

Ignorance,  246,  259. 

Illumination,  47,  50. 

Illusion,  6,  44,  71,  131,  183,  224. 

Images,  65. 


Imagination,  66,  94,  123,  138,  150,  153,  160,  164,  202,  227. 

Immortality,  61,  65,   152. 

Impression,  61,  65,  152. 

Incubus,  1 86. 

Indifference,  248. 

Induction,  70,  132. 

Infection,  13. 

Infidelity,  115. 

Inner  man,  69,  161,  198. 

Inner  senses,  161. 

Inner  world,  42,  139. 

Insanity,  113,  151,  167. 

Inspiration,  169. 

Instinct,  208. 

Intellect,  15,  29,  49,  99,  147,  208,  213,  237. 

Intelligence,  208. 

Intemperance,  133,220. 

Intuition,  15,  29,  49,  51. 

Invisibility,  62,  70,  81,  155, 

Isolation,  no. 

Jesus  of  Nazareth,  234,  243. 

Kama  loca,  180. 

Kama  rupa,  180. 

Karma,  122,  187,  232. 

Keeley  motor,  270. 

Kempis,  185. 

Knowledge,  15,  69,  183,  222,  227,  246,  255. 

Krishna,  222,  244. 

Language,  252,  270. 

Law,  30,  121,  206,  226. 

Life,  20,  33,  55,  62,  103,  145,  176,  225,  239. 

Life  principle.  80,  116,  242. 

Life  transfer,  99,  101,  114,  176,  188. 

Light,  40,  78,  129,231. 

Logos,  5,  237. 

Lord,  235. 

Love,  43,  128,  144,  239,  245,  247,  249. 


vi  INDEX. 

Macrocosm  and  microcosm,  23,  52,79,  123,210. 

Magic,  11,  20,  39,  84,  112,  190,  203,  247,  254. 

Magic  fire,  204. 

Magic  mirrors,  131,  149,  170. 

Magic  numbers,  125. 

Magic  squares,  125. 

Magnetism,  150. 

Man,  20,  23,  32,  42,  52,  60,  69,  87,  122, 136,  142,  162,  170,  209,  225 

232,  250,  257. 
Marriage,  171,  214. 
Masonry,  57. 
Master,  162,  234. 
Matter,  59,  63,  73,  77,  79. 
Medicine,  53. 
Meditation,  45,  266. 
Medtumship,  22,  84,  96,  150,  170,  184. 
Memory,  44,  196,  211. 
Mind,  54,  69,  80,  149,  157,  163,  193. 
Mind  cure,  115,  202. 
Money,  142. 
Motion,  73,  77. 
Motive,  122. 

Muscular  consciousness,  165. 
Music,  269. 
Mysteries,  39,  242. 
Mysticism,  26. 
Mystic  death,  185. 
Mythology,  86,  216,  245. 

Nature,  52,  124,  206. 
Necessities  of  life,  56. 
Necromancy,  84,  98,  100,  186. 
Nirvana,  37,  121,  174,  188,243. 

Obedience,  223,  248. 
Objectivity,  66,91. 
Object  of  life,  55,  220. 
Obsessions,  102,  167,  181. 
Occultism,  220,  251,  260. 
One,  72,  77,  114,139. 
Opinions,  30,  183. 
Oupnekhata,  276. 


INDEX.  vii 

Pain,  182. 

Pantheon,  217. 

Paracelsus,  35,  122,  180. 

Parentage,  60. 

Passion,  112,  135,215. 

Path,  255. 

Penetration,  44. 

Pentagram,  275. 

Perception,  48,  55,  66,  70,  152, 159. 

Perfection,  38,  41. 

Personality,  37,  42,  60,  129,  142,  155,  232,  237,  247,  248. 

Periodicity,  152. 

Perispirit,  100. 

Phantoms,  90. 

Philosopher's  stone,  254. 

Physicians,  52,  115. 

Planetary  spirits,  87. 

Planets,  81,  126. 

Plato,  76,  124. 

Power,  248. 

Practice,  220,  261. 

Pralaya,  69. 

Prayer,  44,  137,  238. 

Precious  stones,  201. 

Primordial  matter,  59. 

Principles,  59,  140, 176,  199,  214,  226. 

Progress,  208. 

Prophets,  48. 

Prostitution,  141. 

Psyche,  244. 

Psychometry,  106,  196. 

Purgatory,  154,  180. 

Purification,  136,  178. 

Purity,  135,  141. 

Pythagoras,  125. 

Quackery,  115. 


Rationalism,  74. 

Reality,  58,  62,  67. 

Reason,  66, 139,  148,  167,  174,  207, 


viii  .  INDEX. 

Reasoning,  50,  99,  255. 
Redeemer,  40,  95,  234,  237. 
Reforms,  199. 

Regeneration,  173,  185,  236. 
Re-incarnation,  107,  187,  210. 
Relativity,  40,  64. 
Religion,  24,  32,  236,  258. 
Renunciation,  36. 
Resurrection,  250. 
Rose,  6,  280. 

Rosicrucian,  239,  240,  280. 
Rules  oflife,  228. 

Sacrifice,  37. 

Saint  Dominic,  91. 

Saint  Martin,  266. 

Salvation,  235,  238. 

Schopenhauer,  254. 

Science,  24, 52,  146. 

Self,  37,  233,  237. 

Self-consciousness,  34,  69,  157,  165,  174,  211. 

Self-control,  49,  224,  265. 

Self-existence,  175. 

Selfishness,  33,  in. 

Self-knowledge,  31,  183,  206,  257. 

Sensation,  166. 

Senses,  69. 

Separation,  177. 

Seven,  126,  139. 

Seven  principles,  79,  119. 

Sex,  120,  143. 

Signature,  105. 

Sight,  163. 

Silence,  265. 

Sin,  124,  147,  250. 

Six,  139. 

Six-pointed  star,  276. 

Sleep,  66,  160,  171. 

Snake,  217. 

Socrates,  162, 170. 

Somnambulism,  63,  170. 


INDEX. 

Son,  77,  237,  244. 

Sorcery,  95,  101,  191,295. 

Soul,  52,  60,  78,  So,  liS,  142,  152,  177,  196,  244,262. 

Soul  death,  177. 

Sound,  267. 

Space,  63,  73,  78. 

Speculation,  32. 

Sphinx,  5,57. 

Spheres,  83. 

Spirit,  60,  63,  70,  88,  174,  187,  233. 

Spirits  of  music,  92. 

Spirits  of  nature,  87,  232. 

Spiritualism.  84,  95,  loo,  150,  185. 

Spiritus  Mundi,  204. 

Spleen,  84. 

Subjectivity,  66,  138. 

Substance,  59,  195. 

Succubus,  1 86. 

Suffering,  238. 

Suggestion,  70. 

Suicide,  loi,  145,  186. 

Sun,  115,  213,  253,  262. 

Superstition,  44,  51. 

Symbols,  86,  158,  171,202,  240,  255, 

Sympathy,  200. 

Temperance,  217. 

Temple,  117,  139,  214,  240. 

Theosophy,  42,  50,  165,  227,  262. 

Thought,  70,  163,  1 68,  1 8 1. 

Thought-transfer,  54,  67,  95,  151,  164,  167,  232. 

Three,  63,  77,  114,  121,  254. 

Time,  65. 

Tincture,  167. 

Trance,  170. 

Transformation,  58/82,  140,  147,  193. 

Tree  of  life,    187. 

Tree  of  knowledge,  360. 

Trinity,  76. 

Tritheim,  204. 

truth,  27,  44,  48,  171,  235,  243,  261. 

Two,  72. 


x  INDEX. 

Unconsciousness,  157,  175. 

Unity,  69,  73,  77,  104,  129,  135,  225. 

Unselfishness,  213,  248. 

Utility,  55, 59,  220. 

Vampires,  145,  186. 

Vanity,  148. 

Vibration,  131,  214,  253. 

Vice,  131,  152. 

Virgin,  121,  212. 

Virtue,  131,  152,  215,  249. 

Visions,  148. 

Water,  78. 

Will,  20,  60,  72,  78,  124,  145,  165,  167,  206,  223, 

Will  cure,  115. 

Wisdom,  39,  207,  214,  258,  265. 

Witchcraft,  95,  295. 

Woman,  120,  144. 

Word,  237,  244,  262. 

Worlds,  42,  138. 

Worship,  44,  155,  174. 

Yoga  practice,  221,  235,  242,  266. 
Zodiac,  6. 


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